Destinations: Really Bad Eggs
by Genesis Wolfe
Summary: Two modern day college students are sucked into the world of Pirates of the Caribbean.  A fun, humorous, actionpacked story to balance out all the angst and drama of most of my other works.
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__Some of you may recognize this story. I'm not surprised. Why? Because it has been posted before. This, however, shall be the final text-based version of "Really Bad Eggs." I do plan on putting a more advanced, interactive version on my website, however. This is merely the barebones story, snas illustrations and extras. I want to thank everyone who reviewed the first version of this story; because of you, I was inspired to finish the story, and on top of that, edit it to perfection and add to it even after thinking it was completely finished. And now, without further ado, I give you _Destinations: Really Bad Eggs.

**Chapter One: In Which Genesis Steals From a Geeky Kid**

"Damn it."

Rosalyn frowned as a drip of watery red ran into the blueness of the painting she was working on. She reached for a clean brush and tried her best to rid her stormy ocean of its new red accent. She ended up with a purple smear, and her frown deepened.

"Stupid watercolors," she muttered. "You're the devil."

"Quit talking about me when you think I'm not here."

Roz turned to see her roommate Genesis walking through the garish orange door of their small apartment, brushing snow out of her long brown hair and carrying a small, plastic grocery sack.

"How was the science fair?" Roz asked, glancing back at her now-ruined painting and setting her brushes down in defeat.

"Cadence got a blue ribbon," Gen replied, recalling her little sister's somewhat cliché potato-battery experiment. She began pulling her gloves off with her teeth, while Rosalyn stared at her for a moment.

"What's in the bag?"

Gen looked up, confused. "Huh?"

"The bag," Rosalyn repeated, green eyes trained on the bag swinging at Gen's thigh. "What's in it?"

"Oh!" Gen exclaimed, feigning surprise and pretending to notice the bag for the first time. Roz rolled her eyes.

"This?" Gen continued, holding the bag up high enough for China to see. "Oh, funny you should ask, _mon__amie_." With great flair and flourish, she reached into the bag and pulled out what looked like a hybrid of a TI-83 calculator and a remote control, with some sort of light bulb fixed at the top.

A short silence permeated the room, Gen holding the contraption as if it were the Holy Grail and Rosalyn staring at it incredulously. Roz felt it necessary to break the silence.

"What the hell is it?"

"Well," Gen said hesitantly, lowering it with a blank look on her face. "It's not anything, really. Supposedly a time machine prototype or something." She handed it off for Roz to inspect.

"Why the hell would you waste good money on this?" Roz asked, frowning and pulling out her hair clip, allowing her red hair to swing into her face a little before tucking the jaw-length strands behind her ears. Gen raised an eyebrow and proceeded into the living room.

"Who said anything about money?" came her off-handed response.

Roz stared at her friend's retreating back, not following her out of their kitchen/art studio. "You stole it?"

"You could say that," was the disembodied reply.

"Why?"

"Because it looks cool," Gen replied. She returned to the kitchen, having shed her bulky winter coat and sweatshirt, and sat down at the small dining table/oversize paint palette, smoothing down her pink tank top.

Roz shook her head and sighed. "Oh, well, yes, that's a perfectly legitimate reason for grand theft thing-that-doesn't-work," she muttered. She paused, eyes swinging to her friend. "Please tell me you didn't steal this from the science fair."

Gen grinned and leaned over, plucking the machine out of Rosalyn's hand. "I didn't steal this from the science fair."

"Liar."

Gen shrugged and reached for her purse. Her arm knocked Rosalyn's treacherously balanced paint palette, and in her attempt to catch it, she dropped the time machine onto the floor. There was a smash and a sudden, unfamiliar whirring noise as the machine suddenly activated, shining a strange, milky light from the top. Gen picked it up tentatively.

"What's it doing?" Roz asked, backing up slightly.

"Holy mother," Genesis breathed. "I think it's working." As she pointed the machine towards the wall, a foggy circle appeared on the white paint where the machine's light hit.

After a moment, Gen's face lit up. "Let's try it!"

"Are you mental?" Roz said, gaping at her friend. "How do you know that's even what's supposed to happen?"

"Well," Gen said slowly. "If you enter a date, place, or event, it's supposed to take you there. Somehow."

"Yeah, somehow," Roz said, scowling. She took off her spattered smock to reveal a black halter top and blue jeans. "I'm glad you got the details and all."

"I'm sorry!" Gen snapped, throwing a hand in the air dismissively. "Seeing as the inventor was some little kid who wasn't even at his station, I couldn't find out all of the fine print."

Another silence.

"You stole it from a kid?"

Gen bit her lip. "…Yes."

"You're going to Hell, you know."

"La de da, heard that before. I'm Catholic, remember? Guilt trips are my specialty. You've met my mother."

"Some short kid with a pocket protector is crying right now because of you."

"Hey," Gen said with a smile. "I _was_ that kid once." She glanced around the small kitchen. "Where should we go?"

Rosalyn sighed and once again rolled her eyes, which happened to land on a pile of DVDs lying on the counter that had recently been returned by a neighbor. She picked up the top one, the kohl-rimmed eyes of a particularly unique-looking Johnny Depp staring back at her. She held the case up for Gen to see rather unenthusiastically. "How's about this?"

"Perfect," Gen replied, snatching up the case. She thought for a minute, and then typed something into the miniature keyboard on the time machine. She aimed it back at the wall, setting it on the table. Soon, the foggy circle of light began to clear and brighten, showing a beautiful Caribbean landscape, complete with a bustling Port Royal. Rosalyn hesitantly reached her hand toward it, reeling back when her hand went through the wall and felt tropical warmth on the other side.

"Well?" she asked, rubbing her hand in shock. "It apparently _is_ genuine."

"Then go!" Genesis said, pushing Roz into the circle. Rosalyn's black and hot pink sneakers were the last things she saw before leaping through as well.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__Yes, a rather short one. The goal with this story was to have it equal the movie in scene/chapter quantity, you see. But at least you get to see the girls drop hundreds of feet, some naval gambling, and kleptomania. And don't worry, darlings, you'll see Jack in the next chapter._

**Chapter Two: In Which Gravity Takes Its Toll**

Upon leaping through the time machine's light, Genesis immediately felt a warm, harsh wind blowing against her. At first she wondered why it was so windy, and then she wondered why her feet didn't seem to be touching anything. This definitely caught her attention, and she opened her eyes to a rapidly approaching sea of blue.

Quite literally.

She was falling at a high clip toward what seemed to be the ocean. She glanced around frantically, looking for Rosalyn, but made no progress in that search, and therefore decided to pray to any god who was listening to let her live through her gravity-induced journey.

She tensed as she hit the water, thankfully and relatively feet first. It was warm initially, near the surface to about two feet down, where it became so cold she felt like millions of needles were simultaneously stabbing her all over her body. Her high fall sent her fairly far down, and as she swam to the surface her lungs began to burn.

She broke the surface, sputtering and gasping for air. She wiped at her eyes, clearing away the stinging salt water and looking around. There was what looked like a bustling port ahead, complete with grand tall ships, uniformed eighteenth century soldiers and ladies in huge gowns. Port Royal, Jamaica.

There weren't any rescue squads being called out, nor any concerned yells, so her unnatural descent had apparently not been seen, which was probably for the best. No need to call even more attention to herself than she needed to. She shuddered suddenly, realizing she was well into the ocean, and her irrational fear of large fish of any kind, let alone sharks, propelled her speedily toward the nearest pier.

Her luck at not being seen ran out, as expected, as she climbed up the rickety wooden ladder, collapsing onto the planks of the pier. A couple of middle-aged women, apparently of good breeding and about to set sail, started as a very wet young woman in equally wet jeans and tank top clambered onto the pier. She paused momentarily, ringing out her long hair and wiping her now-running eye makeup out of her vision. She noticed the gawking women and smiled.

"Lovely day for a swim, ladies, don't you agree?" she asked. One woman actually swooned into the arms of the other, who caught her friend and tried to simultaneously fan herself.

Genesis bowed and hurried past them, trying to avoid stares unsuccessfully. Her modern clothing was definitely not going to work, and besides, wet jeans chafe. She glanced around, suddenly noticing a man who wasn't paying attention to his luggage, apparently arguing with a captain over shipping costs. Genesis casually moved to his side of the pier, not breaking her stride as she scooped up one of his bags that happened to have a shirtsleeve tumbling out. She was not going to walk around in wet clothing, that was for sure.

Meanwhile, Rosalyn also had the sudden, sickening realization that she was plummeting about a hundred feet per second. However, her forthcoming landing pad didn't have the cushioning appeal that Genesis' had. She was headed straight down at a large ship, and it didn't look very soft. However, there was the slight chance, with a little calculating. She cursed herself for not paying attention in geometry, glanced at the angle she was falling at, figured the speed, and hoped. As she sped past the top of the mast, her arms shot out and she clawed at the sail, catching it momentarily with one hand before losing her grip. She continued falling, though the speed decreased, and continued slowing as she continued grabbing at ropes and sails on her way down. Her fake nails snapped off and flew in every direction, each followed by a subsequent curse. There was five bucks down the drain.

She eventually finished her descent by crashing down on a poorly made table that split down the middle as she landed on it, a deck of playing cards flying into the air. She slowly managed to sit up, propping herself up on an elbow and rubbing her back with her other hand. She opened her eyes, wincing, and started at the sight of four red-garbed British soldiers gaping at her, still holding their poker hands. When they didn't seem to be able to say anything, she ungracefully pulled herself from the remains of the destroyed table.

"Er, sorry about that, guys," she said, grimacing at the damage. "I'll pay for that, promise." She began to walk away, and glanced at one of the men's cards. When he turned away to cast a curious glance at his companions, she pointed at his cards.

_He's bluffing, _she mouthed to the others before scampering off.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__OH MY GOD IT'S JACK. Yes, darlings, our dear captain makes his first appearance in this chapter. Jack not to your liking? Well, perhaps the healthy dose of pretty commodore featured in the next chapter shall sate you. ;)_

**Chapter Three: In Which Cross-dressing Flourishes**

Genesis really lucked out in swiping the gentleman's bag, finding that it was mainly filled with clothes. He wasn't an overly large man, so most of the garments fit relatively well on Gen's tall frame. The pair of slightly loose tan breeches, a loose white dress shirt, and a black waistcoat suited her quite well, actually. As did the small amount of coins she found in a small leather purse she happened to find as well. She felt fairly bad for stealing the bag, truth be told, but its previous owner was much better off than she was at the moment. Besides, it was only some clothes and a bit of cash, nothing that was obviously a personal memento.

Genesis tied the coin purse to her belt, which she slipped on along with her still soggy black boots, and stepped tentatively out of the small lean-to she had been hiding in. Heaving the stolen leather bag onto her shoulder, having stuffed her own clothes into it, she fell into a casual step. She smoothed her formerly straightened hair back, the natural waves coming through now that it had gotten wet, and tied it in a low ponytail with some twine from the shed. She was suddenly glad she had recently dyed her hair brown; the red and blonde streaks she had previously put in it would have definitely attracted unwanted attention.

As she wandered somewhat aimlessly, taking it all in, she saw a familiar, peculiar sight; the mast of a submerged boat sticking out of the water at the end of a pier. Her eyes scanned the dock until seeing a pompous-looking man, his slave boy, and a recognizable swaying figure.

Genesis hid behind some barrels, watching through the cracks between them as _the_ Captain Jack Sparrow deposited three shillings onto the harbormaster's report book, sauntering past and casually swiping the man's purse from the pedestal. As he swaggered past her barrel, she silently fell into step a few yards behind him, on the opposite side of the road. She kept a casual eye on him, until he turned around, swinging dangerously, as if his torso could spin full circle. Her gaze quickly fell into a merchant's booth, and she acted as if she were simply browsing the wares there. She chanced a peek while pretending to examine a bolt of calico, and he was still watching her warily, dark eyes sizing her up. She gave him a friendly smile and inclination of the head, and continued browsing the booth. He apparently decided she was just a civilian on a shopping spree, albeit in men's clothing, and continued on his swaying, fanciful way. Gen smiled at the merchant and continued her "wandering," noticing Jack swing towards the gangplank of the _Interceptor_. She ducked behind some crates, watching Jack head towards the sleek ship, only to be cut off by two British soldiers. Genesis smirked as Murtogg and Mullroy soon began arguing amongst themselves over the existence of the _Black Pearl_, allowing Jack to sweep by, relatively unseen.

He didn't remain unnoticed, of course, and the soldiers quickly boarded the ship behind him, bayonets at the ready. Genesis used their turned backs as an opportunity to get closer, finally able to make out their words.

"You don't have permission to be aboard there, mate," Murtogg said, his voice a bit shaky.

"I'm sorry," Jack said apologetically. "It's just…it's such a pretty boat. Ship."

Mullroy eyed him warily. "What's your name?"

At this point, Genesis was just sneaking behind another large crate, and she caught Jack's eye as he glanced past the soldiers' heads. He opened his mouth to say something about her presence, and suddenly realized Mullroy had spoken.

"Pardon?"

"Your name," Mullroy repeated. "What is it?"

As Jack paused, seemingly hesitating at the question, Gen gave up her hiding routine, since a cheesy and rather annoying rendition of the Mission Impossible theme had just popped into her head, and stepped out from her hiding place.

"Smith!"

The soldiers turned around, and all three men looked at this young woman, who, in men's clothing no less, was climbing up the inclined plank onto the ship.

"Where have you been?" she asked Jack scoldingly, pimping a false accent fantastically well. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Smith?" Murtogg asked, giving Jack a disbelieving look.

"Smithy, if you like," Jack said with a friendly smile. He gave Genesis a quick glance as Murtogg trained his bayonet on her.

"And who are you?" he asked, his eyes momentarily raking up and down her body suspiciously.

"Why, his sister, o' course," she said, turning to straighten and smooth the lapels of Jack's dingy coat in a maternal fashion. She gave him a secretive wink and looked back at the soldiers, placing a finger on the side of the blade aimed at her heart and pushing it gently aside. "He wandered away from me a near half-hour ago. I hope he hasn't been too much of a bother, gentlemen." Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "He ain't right in the head, you know," she said, leaning towards the soldiers. "Mum dropped him a lot as a baby."

Jack frowned as Gen shook her head tragically. Mullroy didn't look convinced.

"What's your business in Port Royal, Mister…and Miss…Smith?"

"Yeah," Murtogg added. "And no lies!"

Jack sighed theatrically, throwing a companionable arm around Gen's shoulders. "Well, then, I confess. It is my…our…intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder, and otherwise pilfer my…our…weasely black guts out." Gen smiled sweetly, tilting her head a bit.

"Nice imagery, innit?" she asked.

"I said no lies!" Murtogg said, eyes wide.

"I think he's telling the truth," Mullroy replied, not look away from Jack and Genesis, apparently unable to choose whom to aim his weapon at.

"If he were telling the truth, he wouldn't have told us," Murtogg explained in a slightly impatient tone.

"Unless of course," Jack offered, "he knew you wouldn't believe the truth, even if he told it to you."

The soldiers looked utterly and completely lost.

"Yeah," Gen said, nodding sympathetically. "Try living with him."

Rosalyn, meanwhile, was also in the process of gender-bending. Her man-clothes of choice, however, were a bit more…stand-out-ish. The marine was rather small, and rather alone. A brick near some crumbling masonry had turned out to be an excellent tool in the art of garment theft, and one bonk to the head knocked the guy out cold. At first she panicked, believing she had killed the poor guy, then realized he was breathing, and actually mumbling something about kumquats in his sleep. She took this as a hint that he would not be out for long, and quickly began ridding him of his uniform. She ducked into a niche behind a merchant's shop and took to pulling on the uniform, growling impatiently at the many buckles and buttons the damned thing possessed, calling it many unkind things before finally making it look presentable.

Hiding her auburn bob beneath her black tri-corner hat, she hid in a small alley until a troop of soldiers marched by, and she fell into step behind them. Marching band had finally proven itself useful in real life. The soldiers moved into the fort, where Captain Norrington, undoubtedly, was becoming a commodore.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__A rather long chapter, comparatively. A chock full of pretty, pretty pirate captains and British commodores. All right, so perhaps only one of each, but really, the two you'll find here are certainly worth it. One more chapter after this, then I'll upload the next five in a wee bit. It is rather late, and I am rather tired. But I could live with myself without giving you dears a lovely helping of Jack and James. ;)_

**Chapter Four: In Which Genesis Saves the Dress, Because It Was Such a Waste of Brocade**

Genesis Wolfe was currently sitting on the _Interceptor_, seated between Murtogg and Mullroy, studying her nails as the soldiers listened, enthralled, as Jack told them a tale of adventure.

"…and then, they made me their chief."

Gen looked up from her nails on cue, eyes spotting a plummeting figure as it crashed into the water, making a resounding splash that had the amplitude of a young woman's weight.

Rosalyn O'Brien, on the other hand, watched the fall from a different perspective. She had managed to slip out of formation, weaving her way through the crowd until reaching a balcony where Commodore Norrington and Elizabeth Swann stood. She saw the woman sway slightly, and mutter something before tumbling over the edge of the battlement. Pulling the front corner of her tri-corn hat lower over her freckled face, she rushed to the ledge of the battlement, helping a naval lieutenant hold Commodore Norrington back so that he wouldn't jump in after Elizabeth.

"The rocks!" the other man, Gillette, shouted. "Sir, it's a miracle _she_ missed them!"

"It would've been a much shorter movie, if she hadn't," Roz muttered. Norrington glanced her way with a bemused expression, and she lowered her face as he shrugged quickly back into his jacket. He turned and rushed away, several soldiers in pursuit. Rosalyn sighed.

"Might as well," she murmured as she herself gave chase.

Jack, Genesis, Murtogg and Mullroy gazed over the railing of the ship at the rippling water. Jack looked rather torn.

"Will you be saving her then?" he asked Mullroy.

"I can't swim," the soldier replied, his voice cracking in panic. Jack looked to Murtogg, who shook his head, silently echoing the same lack of ability.

"Pearl of the king's navy you are," Jack muttered, removing his many "effects" and handing them off to Genesis.

"Do not lose these, love," he said, his face very close to hers and his expression serious. She shook her head in agreement, and he climbed onto the railing, performing a fairly impressive dive into the water.

Not a moment after Jack hit the water, there was a strange pulsation, like a small earthquake. The force of it was enough to make Genesis stumble slightly on the deck of the _Interceptor_, and she nearly dropped all of Jack's effects. Murtogg and Mullroy watched as a curious ripple flowed out over the relatively calm sea, out into the horizon.

"What was that?" Murtogg asked in a perplexed tone. Mullroy looked just as confused, as did Genesis, who shrugged under the weight of all of Jack's things. A sudden wind whipped through, nearly blowing the marines' hats off their heads, and the three looked up to the mast above them, watching the flag atop the naval ship entirely change direction.

"Hurricane?" Mullroy ventured, eyeing the strange weather patterns.

Gen's eyes narrowed. "Worse."

She glanced back at the water, now looking just as irresolute as Jack just had. She glanced down at her dry clothes, and imagined Jack tearing off Elizabeth's dress. Elizabeth's beautiful dress that Genesis honestly liked more than the governor's daughter herself.

"Promise not to lose these?" she asked the soldiers desperately, gesturing to she and Jack's belongings. They nodded vigorously in reply, apparently in shock over the events, and she proceeded to shove off Jack's belongings to one of them, taking off her boots and handing those, her waistcoat, and her bag to the other. She leapt over the edge of the ship, ending up feet-first in the water, far less gracefully than Jack had, and followed the much faster captain.

Gen paused for a moment to get her bearings, then looked back to the water to watch Jack surface with a considerably less clothed Elizabeth in tow. Gen took a huge breath, and dove down into the water, eyes stinging as she followed the vague cream blob that was the dress. She felt her ears pop as she descended, but she finally managed to grab the dress and rather haphazardly bring it to the surface and tread water to the dock.

"I've got her," Murtogg was saying, pulling Elizabeth out of the water and onto the wooden planks. He pressed an ear to her blue-tinged lips. "Not breathing!"

"Don't worry," Gen sputtered from the edge of the dock. "I'm fine. Focus on the pretty lady in her underwear. I can get me and her two-ton dress up myself." Jack, who had pulled himself up hurriedly, turned and grabbed Gen by the wrist, and they jointly managed to get her onto the planks, where she collapsed under the weight of the dress and tossed it aside.

"Move," Jack then said, pushing Murtogg out of the way. He pulled a small knife from his boot and cut the front lacings of Elizabeth's corset. The young woman jerked into consciousness, coughing up salt water. She looked up at Jack with an understandably frightened look; he was quite a sight to wake up to if you hadn't seen him before. Genesis crawled over to Elizabeth's side and smoothed her matted hair out of her face. Elizabeth seemed to relax at the presence of another woman, even a strange one in men's clothing.

"You're all right, love," Gen crooned soothingly. "Ignore the scary man with the scary hair. You're fine now."

"Never would have thought of that," Mullroy murmured behind her, looking at Elizabeth's corset thoughtfully after Jack pushed the offending garment into his hands. He then realized exactly what he was holding, and pushed the racy thing away to Murtogg.

"Clearly, you've never been to Singapore," Jack said simple. Mullroy glanced at Genesis for an explanation, receiving only an equally confused shrug in return.

Jack, meanwhile, was studying the gold medallion hanging from Elizabeth's neck. "Where did you get that?"

Before he could receive an answer, cold steel was at his neck. Gen, having been so enraptured by the events, tried to gasp out a warning, but her cry was interrupted by a shiny friend of her own, pointed straight at her chest.

"On your feet," came a deep, commanding voice. Gen and Jack rose gingerly to see the newly appointed Commodore Norrington, holding both of the swords. Which actually looked pretty damned impressive. Genesis felt a sudden twinge of extra respect for the man.

"'Allo, Commodore," she said cheerfully. Norrington's cold eyes flashed an angry warning, and Gen's smile disappeared as she busied herself by looking around at the surrounding soldiers. Jack smirked a bit.

"Elizabeth!"

Gen watched as Governor Swann rushed to help his daughter to her feet, covering her with his own coat. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Elizabeth replied breathlessly. Her gaze was foggily transfixed on Gen and Jack. "I'm fine."

Governor Swann followed his daughter's gaze, but his eyes landed on Murtogg, whose hands were full of his daughter's corset. Murtogg realized how suspicious it must have looked, and hid the corset behind his back, pointing an accusing finger at Jack. The governor shook with rage. "Shoot him!"

"Father!" Elizabeth exclaimed as the soldiers took aim. She stepped towards Norrington. "Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?"

Norrington glanced at Jack, who looked hopeful, and at Genesis, who had a pleading expression on her face. His face remained hard as he considered his options.

"I believe thanks are in order," he said stiffly, sheathing his sword and handing the second off. He offered his hand to Jack, who regarded it thoughtfully and cautiously. Before Gen's mind had processed current events and what was about to happen, Jack had gripped Norrington's hand in a friendly shake, only to have Norrington twist his wrist and wrench his shirt sleeve up, revealing the P-shaped scar on his wrist. Jack and Gen exchanged identical grimaces.

"Had a brush with the East India Trading Company, did we, pirate?" Norrington seemed to spit the last word, and looked awfully pleased with himself. His entire posture changed, a certain careless arrogance taking over his tall frame as he realized he was most certainly in control of this situation.

"Pirate?" Governor Swann was all excited again. "Hang him!"

"Keep your guns on him, men," Norrington ordered. He turned to his right hand man. "Gillette, fetch me some irons."

Norrington's grip remained harsh on Jack's hand, and he pushed the pirate's sleeve up farther, revealing a blue tattoo of a bird flying over an ocean sunset. "Well, well, Jack Sparrow, isn't it?"

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow," Jack replied without missing a beat. He remembered that he had at least twenty bayonets aimed at him, and quickly added, "If you please, sir."

Norrington glanced around the port theatrically. "Well, I don't see your ship, _Captain_." Gen nearly snorted; seeing the seemingly proper Commodore dishing out the snark seemed to tickle her funny bone. Norrington raised a brow and glanced in her direction at the suppressed laugh, but chose to mainly ignore her for the moment.

"I'm in the market," Jack said, narrowing his eyes. "As it were."

"He said he'd come to commandeer one," Murtogg piped up.

"Told you he was telling the truth," Mullroy mumbled grumpily. "These are his, sir." Norrington sifted through Jack's belongings, looking relatively bored.

"No additional shots or powder. A compass that doesn't point north." He grabbed the hilt of Jack's sword and pulled it halfway out of its sheath. "And I half-expected it to be made of wood." He slid the sword back into the sheath with a smirk. "You are no doubt the worst pirate I have ever heard of him."

"But you have heard of him."

Norrington glanced at Genesis as she spoke, and suddenly took interest in her. "And you are…" he cast a glance down at her torso, eyes quickly coming back to her face with a slight hint of amusement, "…Miss?"

Genesis glanced down to see what he was looking at, and quickly crossed her arms over her chest; her wet, white blouse was leaving little to the imagination, even with the bra underneath it. Some of the men snickered, and she scowled. "No one you've necessarily heard of, dear commodore," she said flippantly. "But you'll be sure to have recurring nightmares that repeat my name."

All hail Gen's relatively delusional sense of self-competence.

Norrington raised a brow again. Genesis found herself becoming rather used to receiving the detached look of cautious interest from him. "And what name would that be, Miss?"

_Well, that would've been a good thing to think of beforehand_, Gen thought. She scowled slightly. Pirates…pirate names. What do pirates do? Drink. Liquor.

"Morgan," she said suddenly. "Genesis Morgan."

The whole lot of them turned their gaze to her, most frightened, Norrington rather triumphant, and Jack apparently now very interested in her. Well, apparently that worked. If she hadn't been thankful for her heritage-established alcoholism before, she was now.

Rosalyn, still in soldier garb, pushed her way through the crowd, finding not only a very wet Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann, but an equally drenched, exceedingly cocky Genesis Wolfe speaking with a certain Commodore Norrington. _Good Lord, woman, can't you keep yourself out of trouble?_

Gen glanced at the marine who had recently pushed his way through the ranks to see what was going on. A very familiar, freckled marine. With breasts, apparently. Gen winked at the "soldier." Norrington glanced at Roz, still oblivious to the small soldier's true identity in his distraction, then at her bayonet. Rosalyn was quick to catch on, raising a shaky, unsure firearm at her friend and the pirate captain.

"These are the girl's, sir," Murtogg piped, holding out Genesis' bag and other items out to Norrington. Norrington gave a curt nod of his head, and Murtogg proceeded to empty the bag onto the docks. Genesis cried out in protest, attempting to lurch forward to stop them, but was held in place by a soldier. Her clothing came tumbling out, and Norrington drew his sword again, using the tip to rifle through it. He gave the jeans and tank an odd look, but said nothing until he looked up at Genesis after finding nothing but clothing.

"I stand corrected," he said self-importantly, that smirk reappearing on his face. "_You _are the worst pirate I've ever seen."

"And you are a horrible snoop, Commodore," Genesis said indignantly, scowling at the taller man. "I could have had _lady_ things in there."

Norrington narrowed his eyes curiously at her, and stepped forward. Gen found herself wanting to step back away from his imposing frame, but was, of course, thwarted by the body of the solder holding her. One of his hands grasped her by the right wrist and jerked her shirtsleeve up, revealing nothing but the smooth, pale skin of her forearm. He did the same to her other arm, once again finding nothing.

"Morgan, is it?" Norrington inquired, eyeing Genesis up and down, not yet backing away, as Genesis found herself suddenly wishing he would do. He glanced at Jack, who was watching Gen curiously through narrowed eyes. "Do you know this woman?"

Gen gave Jack a pleading look, begging him to play along. Well, she _had_ just lied for him. Better to make it square and not feel like he owed her anything.

"Aye, of course," Jack said, chocolate brown eyes still locked on sea-blue ones. He then turned his attention to Norrington with a dramatic air. "What sea-faring man hasn't heard of her? Men travel far from their routes to avoid the dangerous blood of Captain Henry Morgan."

Norrington stared for a moment at Genesis, who gave him her sweetest smile, then motioned for the men to drag both Gen and Jack towards the gallows. Jack seemed to be expecting it, but Gen, apparently, had not, and gave Elizabeth a desperate look. Elizabeth caught the glance, and leapt into action.

"Commodore!" she cried, double-stepping to match Norrington's long strides. "I really must protest!"

Norrington noticed the roughness with which Gillette was shoving Genesis along. "Careful, Lieutenant." It would be a shame to have her unconscious for her hanging.

"Pirate or not," Elizabeth protested, "This man saved my life."

"I saved your bloody dress," Gen muttered, and was rewarded with a slight poke with a bayonet from Gillette. She glanced at him. "That your bayonet, or are you happy to see me, love?" The officer shoved her along again, but she couldn't help but notice his eyes crinkle slightly at the remark.

Norrington ignored his right-hand man and his captive, save for a small look of disdain, and turned to Elizabeth. "One good deed is not enough to redeem a man…or woman…of a lifetime of wickedness."

"Though it seems enough to condemn him," Jack offered helpfully. Norrington nodded.

"Indeed," Norrington replied.

"I should've let the damned dress drown," Genesis mumbled. She glanced at Jack when Gillette moved away from them for a moment.

"Finally," Jack muttered, stealing Gillette's pistol. He looped his irons around Elizabeth's neck, quick as a cat, and pulled her away from Norrington and his men. In the same instant, Genesis lunged for the dagger she had seen sticking out of Jack's boot and grabbed the nearest soldier in a similar fashion.

Under any other instance, having a cold steel blade against her throat would have made Rosalyn wet herself, but knowing it was Genesis behind her, and that Gen would probably also wet herself at the thought of slitting anyone's throat, she figured she was safe. However, there may be consequences if she let her guard down, so she tried to look as panicked as possible.

"No!" Governor Swann shouted as some of the men aimed their bayonets. "Don't shoot!"

"I knew you'd warm up to me," Jack said with a sneer. "Commodore, my effects, please. And my hat. And Miss Morgan's, as well, if you don't mind."

No one moved.

"Commodore!" Jack barked warningly, bringing the pistol closer to Elizabeth's temple.

"So, Rosalyn, how's things?" Genesis whispered to her "captive."

"Eh, could be better," Roz replied. "Uniform's snazzy, but the rations suck."

Meanwhile, Norrington had decided it was better to comply with the madman who was currently holding his almost-fiancée hostage, and motioned to Gillette. The lieutenant obliged, handing Jack's things to Elizabeth, and Gen's to Roz after having a marine stuff the clothing back into a leather bag.

"Now, Elizabeth," Jack said kindly. "It is Elizabeth, isn't it?"

"It's Miss Swann," the pretty woman snarled back. Jack threw an amused glance at Genesis, who was smiling appreciatively.

"Feisty one for a boring aristocrat, isn't she?" she said. Elizabeth threw eye-daggers at her.

"Miss Swann," Jack continued obligingly, pulling Elizabeth's attention back to himself. "If you'd be so kind." He allowed Elizabeth to turn around and begin to place his effects in their respective positions around his body.

"Come, come, dear, we don't have all day," he prodded. He grinned as she looked down at the belt she held in her white hands. "Now, if you'd be very kind."

Elizabeth grimaced, but wrapped her arms around Jack's waist quickly, buckling the belt. Genesis snickered as Jack threw a suggestive, victorious glance at Norrington, who had to look away. Jack looked back to Elizabeth as she jerked him a bit.

"Easy on the goods, darling," he said gruffly as she apparently cinched the belt too tightly.

"You're despicable," she hissed.

"You'd think otherwise if you saw what he had under those rags," Genesis said as she struggled to maintain her hold on Rosalyn and still put her boots on with her free hand. Elizabeth looked at her in disgust, while Jack managed to bite back a laugh and glance at Genesis approvingly.

"Ew," Rosalyn muttered. Gen shushed her.

"Sticks and stones, love," Jack murmured to Elizabeth. "I saved your life, you saved mine. We're square." His eyes found Gen's for a moment, and she wondered if he was directing his words at her as well.

Jack turned his attention to the men surrounding them. "Gentlemen," he said grandiosely. He glanced at Elizabeth. "My lady. You will always remember the day that you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Genesis tensed as Jack pushed Elizabeth into the Norrington's arms and leapt to a rope. She made a rather unintimidating squeak as the men began to advance on her. Rosalyn realized what was happening, and pushed her friend's bag into her hands.

"Go," she hissed. "I'll stay with Elizabeth."

Gen began to protest, but the charging men shut her up effectively.

"Be safe," she said, and leapt off of the dock onto the deck of a small ship. She sprinted as gunshots rose behind her, hitting the wood around her and sending splinters of it everywhere. A shot exploded in front of her, courtesy of Lieutenant Gillette's pistol, sending a shard of wood into her cheek. She yelped, but kept her speed, glancing over to catch Jack's fairly panicky, flamboyantly running form. She followed him, lungs burning from the running, and leapt onto the dock. She continued after him until the echoes of gunfire lessened. He stopped, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into the smithy's shop.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__It seems Jack and Gen are going to get along famously. I wonder where Roz shall run off to, however? It seems we shall have to find out our favorite Irishwoman's fate at a later time; for now, let us follow Genesis and Jack as they venture into the unknown territory of blacksmithing._

**Chapter Five: In Which Genesis Becomes a Sports Commentator**

As soon as Genesis entered the smithy with Jack, her lungs wanted to beat her to a bloody pulp. She was already panting like a dog from the running, and now she was in a building full of smoke, dust, and the less-than-appealing combined scent of donkey and old whiskey.

Jack caught sight of the tools, and began walking toward them, when a dull thud was heard from a darkened corner. Genesis laid a halting hand on Jack's arm, and pointed toward the snoring form of the blacksmith, Mr. Brown. Jack nodded in understanding and they both tiptoed gingerly over to the drunken man, leaning over him. Gen's nose wrinkled; he smelled like he had soaked in a barrel of whiskey. Jack poked him once, and the two of them backed away simultaneously, waiting for him to awaken.

Jack glanced at Genesis, then crept close again.

"Whoa!" he shouted, backing up again to await Brown's expected wakefulness. Mr. Brown didn't move. Genesis shrugged, and Jack once again moved toward the tools. Genesis plopped down on a stool, making herself comfortable. Easier (and much more entertaining) to just watch the proceedings.

Jack picked up a hammer, laid the chain of his irons over the anvil next to the fire, and tried to strike them. Unsuccessfully. He tried again. Unsuccessfully. Hit after hit he missed the chain, due to the movement of his wrist striking with the hammer. He growled, throwing a bit of a tantrum and yanking at the chain. Genesis chuckled, and he scowled at her.

"I don't see why you're so amused, Miss Morgan," he said in an impatient tone. "In case you haven't noticed, you're no better off than I am."

"You could say that," Gen said, rising to her feet. "But I understand the sheer mechanics of things." She pointed to the wheel-like mechanism above their heads, and Jack's light bulb switched on. He grabbed a hot poker and stuck the donkey gently on the rump. The poor animal bellowed and began to move, the gears above them jumping into action.

"Very humane," Gen said, looping her chains over a spoke as Jack had. "A gentle slap on the rear end would've sufficed."

"Later, darling," Jack said suggestively as his chains broke. Gen's broke a moment later, but he had already moved out of slapping range. His eyes were locked on the door, outside of which footsteps could be heard.

"Hide," Jack whispered sharply, and he ducked out of site behind the stone fireplace. Genesis slid under a table; not the best hiding place she could've thought of off the top of her head, but better than just standing in the middle of the room looking shocked.

The door opened, and Will Turner stepped into the room. His face twisted in concern, and he rushed to the upset donkey, lovingly calming it down. He glanced at Mr. Brown and smiled warmly.

"Right where I left you," he said, his words falling upon deaf ears. He glanced at the hammer on the anvil, his brow furrowing. "Not where I left you." His dark eyes traveled toward the mantle of the fireplace, where they fell on a hat. A leather tri-corn hat that was left there by a very careless pirate.

_Stupid man_, Genesis thought. _Stupid, stupid man_.

Will reached for the hat, only to be welcomed with a smart slap on the wrist with the broad side of a sword. He snatched his hand to his chest and came face to face with Captain Jack Sparrow. Genesis also sprang from her hiding place, and, for a moment, Will simply looked back and forth between Gen, Jack, and the cold steel pointing at his throat.

"You're the ones they're hunting," Will said. "The pirates."

"Gee, what gave you the first hint, darling?" Genesis said, rolling her eyes. She glanced at Jack. "Quick ones, these blacksmiths."

"You seem somewhat familiar," Jack said, cocking his head at Will. "Have I threatened you before?"

"I make a point of avoiding familiarity with pirates," Will replied coldly.

"Can't imagine why," Gen quipped. "Fine bunch of fellows they are. Make a smashing good cup of tea." Jack gave her a don't-you-ever-shut-up look and turned his attention back to Will.

"Ah, well, then it would be a shame to put a black mark on your record. So, if you'll excuse us," Jack said, taking Gen by the hand and turning casually to leave. His pace halted when he heard the familiar swish of a sword being pulled from its holder. Gen glanced back; Will had picked up one of the many swords lying around the shop.

"Do you think this wise, boy?" Jack asked, taking a defensive stance. "Crossing blades with a pirate?"

"You'll be questioning his wisdom a lot, I'm afraid," Gen muttered.

"You threatened Miss Swann," Will snarled. Jack grinned and slowly ran his blade smoothly, suggestively, along the blade of Will's sword.

"Only a little."

Will lunged, and they sparred a bit before stopping.

"You know what you're doing, I'll give you that," Jack said. "Excellent form. But how's your footwork? First I step here." Jack sidestepped, and Will easily followed suit. "Very good. Now that last step again."

Gen had once again settled back onto the stool to watch the show. The two men continued to give each other hell until finally, Jack managed to knock Will off kilter.

"Ta," Jack said simply, walking towards the door and sheathing his own sword. Gen cried out as Will flung the sword with deadly accuracy, implanting it into the thick wood of the door just inches from Jack's head. Jack looked at the sword, back at Will, and then gripped the sword, giving it a yank. To no avail. He launched himself into a rather spastic routine of twists and pulls before swinging around to face Will with utter and supreme flourish.

"That is a wonderful trick," Jack said, sauntering towards Will. "Except you are once again between me and my way out," he gestured toward the back door, "and now you have no weapon." Gen sighed as Will spun around a grabbed a red-hot poker from the fire. The look on Jack's face was priceless as Will launched his attack, which was now decorated with bright sparks whenever their weapons connected.

"Oh, that was low," Gen said, having begun to commentate the match. "Watch it, Jacko, he almost had you there." She shrieked and dove out of the way as the battle moved to where she was sitting beneath the large wheel. Will grabbed two swords as Jack looked at the utter menagerie of steel.

"Who makes all these?" he asked.

"I do," Will said. "And I practice with them three hours a day!"

"Wow," Gen said. "That's a bit sad."

Jack nodded in agreement. "You need to find yourself a girl, mate," he said, suddenly backing up as Will lunged. He caught Will's swords with his own blade above his head and moved his face in close. "Or, perhaps the reason you practice three hours a day is that you already found one, and are otherwise incapable of wooing said strumpet." He paused. "You're not a eunuch, are you?" He grimaced, glancing down at Will's crotch.

"I practice three hours a day, so that when I meet a pirate, I can kill it!" Will replied, attacking once again.

"Funny how he never answered you, isn't it, Jack?" Gen piped up. She watched in amazement as the fight moved up into the rafters. "Very believable, this fight…"

Upon reaching the ground again, Will knocked Jack's sword away. In a final act of desperation, Jack tore open a bag above Will, sending dark orange sand all over the younger man. He whipped out his pistol, the barrel of which Will was staring into once he wiped his eyes.

"You cheated!" Will said, sounding stunned.

"Pirate!" Jack and Gen chimed together. There was a loud thud against the door. The soldiers had found them. Gen frantically looked for a weapon she could use. Jack's small dagger probably wouldn't do her much good. She grabbed the first thing her hands hit; a beautiful sword, the hilt copper filigree, the blade liquid steel, etched with ornate flames. She held it towards Will, trying not to let it droop. Why didn't anyone tell her that swords were so damned heavy?

"Move away," she said to Will warningly.

"No."

"Please move?" Jack tried.

"No!" Will said gallantly. "I cannot just step aside and let you escape."

Jack's face suddenly turned very serious, and he cocked his pistol. "This shot was not meant for you."

Before Will could say anything in reply, Jack was on the floor. Mr. Brown, still blinking drunkenly, stood behind him, the now-broken bottle of whiskey still raised above his head. The door burst open, and Genesis attempted to dash to the back door. Will managed to seize her and tear the sword from her grasp, pulling her against him and holding the blade to her throat.

"Excellent work, Mr. Brown," Norrington announced, glancing at Jack's unconscious form. "You've assisted in the capture of two dangerous fugitives."

"Just doing my civic duty, sir," Mr. Brown replied, sounding like he was on the brink of a belch.

"You know," Gen whispered to Will, grimacing at the intoxicated smithy. "If you weren't such an obnoxious pretty boy, I'd say you don't get the credit you deserve, love."

"You know," Will hissed back. "If you weren't a filthy pirate, I'd agree with you."

"Well," Norrington said, bursting at the seams with pride. "I trust you'll always remember this as the day that Captain Jack Sparrow and Genesis Morgan _almost_ escaped."

Three men hoisted and carried Jack out the door, while two more took a struggling Genesis off of Will's hands. She paused in her twisting, glancing back at Will and smiling.

"I'll be expecting that sword back, sweetie."


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__Poor Jack and Genesis, they just met and got tossed into prison together all within twenty minutes of meeting each other. Has to be some sort of record. And not only that, but now we have Elizabeth and Rosalyn to worry about. My, but these girls are a lot of trouble, aren't they?_

**Chapter Six: In Which Said Strumpet Drags Rosalyn Into It**

The dungeon smelled very much like any basement. If she covered her ears, closed her eyes, and ignored the ninety-nine percent humidity of the Caribbean climate, she could imagine herself at home, down in the half-finished basement, her father promising once again to get the place finished up and turned into a second family room.

"Want a nice juicy bone?"

A high-pitched whistle.

"Come on."

"Come here."

Gen gave up on ignoring her surroundings, and threw Jack an exasperated look. He looked just as annoyed, and looked over at their neighbors, who were currently waving a juicy bone at the dog that held the keys to the cells.

"You can keep doing that forever, the dog is never going to move," Jack said tiredly.

"Oh," said one of the prisoners irritably. "Excuse us if we haven't resigned ourselves to the gallows."

Jack grimaced and glanced over at Genesis, who was rubbing her eyes tiredly. She tugged the twine from her hair, and it tumbled down over her shoulders, a mass of unruly brown waves. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"Just thinking, love," he said slyly, leaning back against the wall to get a better look at her. She was on the rickety cot provided, legs stretched out in front of her. His gaze trailed waywardly over the long limbs, past the breasts emphasized by the thin fabric and low cut of her shirt. Even in the loose-fitting clothing, it was clear that her tall frame possessed ample soft curves. And Jack was ever the fan of a womanly woman. "You're not a bad-looking strumpet..."

"Gee, thanks."

"And I," he continued, as if she hadn't interrupted him. "Am an immensely attractive, well-to-do, suave pirate captain…"

Gen raised an eyebrow, glancing around at their surroundings. "Well-to-do?"

"Well," Jack said with a grin. "Immensely attractive and suave, in the least. I daresay we could find something interesting to do to…pass the time."

Gen couldn't help but smile. "Well, normally, Captain Immensely Attractive and Suave, I'd probably let you ravish me passionately without protest. However, I am not quite used to performing in front of an audience."

Jack gave her a confused look, and she pointed to the prisoners in the adjoining cell, who were practically falling over themselves trying to get a look at the only female among them. Jack swung to look at them, and they backed off slightly, looking away, whistling, and doing everything in their power to look innocent. Well, as innocent as one can look in a jail cell.

"Well," Jack said, turning his gaze back to his feminine companion. "If we just so happen to find ourselves alone, I am expecting a go at it."

Gen laughed a little, leaning back against the wall. "If I didn't know any better, Captain Sparrow, I'd think you were attempting to stain my good name by destroying my virtue."

He grinned at her. "And what good name would that be?"

She looked at him, face blanching. "I told you. Genesis Morgan."

"Captain Henry Morgan may have fathered many children, but the lot of them were bastards," Jack said suspiciously. "We pirates have our scruples when giving out our names. Morgan included."

Genesis felt herself shrinking under his doubtful gaze. "What's to stop the woman from naming her bastard after the father if she knows his identity?"

Jack raised an eyebrow, but to Gen's relief, he was distracted by something else.

"You're bleeding."

Gen frowned, thrown off by the sudden subject change. "What?"

"Your face. Bleeding."

Gen reached up to her cheek, indeed finding it sticky. She pulled her hand away, her fingers coated with blood both fresh and dried.

"Oh," she said, frowning. "They were shooting at me…"

"You were shot?" Jack exclaimed, sounding a bit more alarmed.

"Yes," she said sarcastically. "And being the amazing rogue that I am, they shot me in the face and I kept on running, brain cells intact." She sighed at his perplexed expression. "They shot the deck of the ship I jumped onto, when we were running away--"

"Escaping," he corrected. "We were escaping. There's a difference."

"When we were _escaping_," Gen repeated. "They shot the deck, and some wood flew at me. I forgot about it."

"Is it still in there?" he asked, sitting up, away from the wall. Gen shrugged.

"I'm not sure," she replied. She touched her face and winced. "I think it might be."

"Here, love." He crawled over to where she was sitting, using a calloused hand to lift her chin, so that the moonlight hit her marred cheek. "This'll hurt."

She squeezed her eyes shut as he gently prodded the wound, getting a grip on the shard of wood. He pulled a bit, gauging what her reaction would be, and she yelped, slapping him frantically away. "OW OW OW!"

"If you don't hold still, I'm not helping you," he said, grabbing her a little more roughly by the chin and jerking her back to the light. She glared at him, a face that looked a bit silly; his fingerss were squeezing her cheeks a bit, making her lips pout out, making her scowl look more like an impetuous child's than an angry woman's. He grabbed the shard of wood and pulled it out quickly, and she whimpered a bit. He began to unwind the scarf wrapped around his hand.

"What are you doing?"

He stopped. "A bandage."

"I'm not putting that thing on my face," she said. "It's infection in fabric form."

"Fine, bleed to death, then," he said in a defeated tone. She scowled at him, then looked down at her shirt. She gave Jack an impertinent look, and proceeded to tear off the left sleeve. It was much cleaner than Jack's scarf. She thought about tying it around her head, but realized how ridiculous she would look, and instead pressed the cream-colored cloth onto her cheek, slowly staining it red. She looked back to Jack, who was now staring out the barred windows at the moon. She sighed, all anger for him gone as exhaustion and her own worry for Rosalyn crept in.

"We'll get out, Jack. I promise."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself," he said, glancing at her.

"Woman's intuition, love," she replied. She gave a little gasp as there was a large explosion nearby, shaking the dungeons and sending dust falling from the ceiling. "Cannon fire!"

"I know those guns," Jack said, leaping to his feet and looking out the window. "It's the _Pearl_."

"The _Black Pearl_?" One of the other prisoners became excited. "I've heard stories. She's been preying on ships and settlements for near ten years. Never leaves any survivors."

"No survivors?" Gen asked incredulously.

"Then where do the stories come from, I wonder?" Jack asked. The prisoners looked a bit dumbfounded.

"Careful, Jack," Gen warned. "You'll make the poor blokes' heads explode."

"There you go, Miss."

Rosalyn turned from her menial task of folding linens to see a maid, Estrella, placing a bed warmer between the sheets of Elizabeth's bed. Roz dipped her head back down, the little bonnet-like hat on her head threatening to tumble off her pinned up red bob. She had snuck away from the shenanigans on the docks and lost the soldier's uniform. The back servants' entrance of the Swann mansion had been fortunately unlocked and unwatched, and swiping a dress from the maids' quarters had been easy. There were so many servants in the house that her new presence had hardly been noticed. She had to get back to Genesis, and if she was with Elizabeth, she knew it would happen one way or another.

"It was a difficult day for you, I'm sure."

Elizabeth sighed, leaning back into the pillows. "I suspected Commodore Norrington would propose but I must admit, I wasn't entirely prepared for it…"

Rosalyn rolled her eyes as the two woman continued gossiping about Norrington and Will. Was is always this boring with women of this time period?

_BOOM!_

Perhaps not.

"What was that?" Elizabeth yelled, bolting upright. Estrella seemed to have left while Rosalyn was ignoring them.

Roz ran to the window, eyeing a ship that was still smoking. "Pirates!"

Elizabeth leapt from her bed, tying her filmy robe around herself. "Run!"

The two girls ran out of the room, catching themselves on the railing, just in time to see the butler reach for the door handle downstairs.

"Don't!" Elizabeth yelled, but it was too late. The butler was on the floor faster than you could say hummus, and pirates were pouring in.

"Dumb ass!" Roz hissed. One of the pirates looked up on the balcony, spotting the two young women. "Up there!"

"Girl!" another pirate yelled, pointing at them.

"Ugly!" Roz yelled, pointing back. Elizabeth grabbed her by the arm and they ran to the nearest door, which they opened to reveal a pale-faced Estrella. Roz pushed her in, allowing Elizabeth to lock the door behind them.

"Miss Swann!" Estrella cried, clutching Elizabeth by the arms. "They've come to kidnap you!"

"What?" Elizabeth and Rosalyn said in unison, giving Estrella odd looks.

"You're the governor's daughter," Estrella said breathlessly, apparently in awe of the whole situation.

"Of course they are," Roz said sarcastically, having taken on an accent that was a hodgepodge of English and Irish. "Never mind that this is the biggest, richest home in the port, and that they're pirates who spend their lives pillaging and raiding and stealing stuff. Yes, I'm sure they want you."

Elizabeth frowned at Rosalyn, then turned back to Estrella. "They haven't seen you," she said. "Hide, and the first chance you get, run to the fort."

Estrella nodded tearfully, and turned to unlock the door.

"Not that way!" Roz yelled, but it was too late; the stupid twit had already opened the door they had just locked. Estrella managed to slip under the arms of a tall, skinny pirate with a bum eye. His friend wasn't far behind, trying to get at the girls. Elizabeth snatched up a bed warmer and smashed the skinny pirate, Ragetti, in the face. It apparently didn't faze him too much, and he grabbed the handle.

"Gotcha!" he said, laughing idiotically as Elizabeth struggled to rip the warmer away. Roz made a grab for it, flipping a switch that sent hot embers and ashes into the face of Ragetti. He shrank away, trying to slap the glowing coals out of his dirty, sand-colored hair.

Elizabeth grabbed Rosalyn's hand and they raced past the pirates, making their way downstairs. Some other pirates cornered them, but a fortunate cannonball burst through and took out the chandelier, distracting the men enough to allow Roz and Elizabeth to slip by and dash into a drawing room. Elizabeth locked the door, looking frantically around the room before heading to some decorative sword display by the fireplace. Roz rolled her eyes as the whole piece came off the wall, causing Elizabeth to shriek in frustration.

The men began to bust in the door, and Roz grabbed Elizabeth by the hand, pulling her into a cabinet nearby. The girls huddled, barely breathing, only able to see through a tiny sliver of light in between the cupboard doors. Roz bit down a yelp as she heard the pirates break through the door. She slapped a hand over her mouth, not trusting herself to remain silent, as she saw random flashes of color pass through the sliver.

"We know you're here, poppet," the other pirate, Pintel, said in a sing-song voice.

"Poppet," Ragetti repeated, snickering.

"Come out, and we promise we won't hurt you," Pintel said, apparently attempting to sound soothing. Rosalyn glanced at Elizabeth, exchanging worried looks of skepticism.

"We will find you, poppet," Pintel said, suddenly sounding more menacing. "You've got something of ours, and it calls to us."

Rosalyn looked at Elizabeth questioningly, getting only a blank look in return.

"The gold calls to us…"

Elizabeth's hand flew to her neck, where Rosalyn now saw a telltale golden medallion.

"Gold calls."

Ragetti's rather insane way of repeating Pintel's words caught Rosalyn's attention, and she shrank back as the light disappeared, replace by the yellowed eye of Pintel.

"'Ello, poppet."

The door burst open, and Rosalyn was about to A) haul ass out of there or B) kick Pintel in the face, when Elizabeth practically squeaked out "Parley!"

Rosalyn and the pirates shared similar looks of "WTF?" until Ragetti broke the silence with a show of intelligence only Ragetti could summon.

"What?"

"Parley," Elizabeth said breathlessly. "I invoke the right of parley."

"Yeah, we heard you," Rosalyn said. "Mind explaining?"

"According to the Code of the Brethren, set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew, you have to take me to your captain," Elizabeth said quickly, glancing back and forth between the pirates.

"I know the code," Pintel spat.

"Well, that makes one of us," Rosalyn said. The balding pirate's scathing look kept her from commenting further.

"If an adversary demands parley, you can do them no harm until the parley is complete," Elizabeth went on. It sounded like she was reading it straight from a book.

"To blazes with the code," Ragetti said, lurching toward the cowering women. They both made little squeaks and recoiled further into the cabinet. Pintel grabbed his companion, easing him back.

"She wants to be taken to the captain," he said to his excitable friend. "And she'll go without a fuss. We must honor the code."

Rosalyn didn't feel any more at ease at his words. Especially when she was snatched roughly by Ragetti, as Pintel did the same to Elizabeth. Apparently, "parley" extended to her as well as they were hauled out of the house and into the streets. Elizabeth, despite her agreement, felt the need to still fight against the pirates. Rosalyn followed suit, until she caught a glimpse of a familiar young blacksmith. She grabbed at Elizabeth, catching the other woman's attention and pointing.

"Will!" Elizabeth shouted.

Will looked over, spotting Elizabeth right away. The pirates hurried their pace, ducking behind a building. Elizabeth and Roz both continued yelling Will's name, but he never reappeared. Rosalyn looked at Elizabeth, and she saw a little bit of the governor's daughter fall apart; her hero wasn't coming.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__I think it has been fairly unanimous amongst previous readers that the last line of this chapter is a Fan Favorite. I still giggle when I read it, and I wrote it. Gotta love the Roz._

**Chapter Seven: In Which Jack and Gen Continue the Jailhouse Rock**

Genesis and Jack, along with the other prisoners, were glued to the barred windows, trying to catch a glimpse of the action outside. There was suddenly a whistling sound, and Genesis found herself caught around the waist by a strong arm and wrenched away from the window. She landed hard on the ground, something heavy landing on top of her. It took her a moment to realize that it was Jack shielding her from the blast, his arms covering her head, and she squeezed her eyes shut, hands gripping his shirt in alarm.

When it seemed that all falling debris had made it to its final resting place, Jack tentatively released his protective hold on her head, both of them looking toward the window cautiously. To their displeasure, their wall was intact, while their neighbors were pouring out of their new bay window.

"My sympathies, friends," one of the men said to them. "You've no manner of luck at all."

"Ladies and gents, the understatement of the century," Gen mumbled. She glanced at Jack, who was climbing off of her and looked crushed. "Oh, come now, Jack, it'll be all right. You look like someone just kicked your puppy."

"It's _Cap-_"

He paused mid-correction, turning away from her and walking to the edge of the cell. "Puppy."

Gen sighed as he picked up the bone from the neighboring cell, banging it against the cell. The dog, who had amazingly not fled at the explosion, stared at him.

"Come on doggy," Jack said. "It's just us now, come along…"

Gen leaned against the bars Jack was reaching through. "You said yourself that would never work."

Jack glanced up at her and grinned. "You know, if you were wearing a skirt, I might be able to see your --"

He was cut off by a light kick in the side; not enough to hurt, just enough to silence. "Bloody woman," he wheezed, turning back to the dog. "That's it, that's it doggy," he said. He growled in frustration. "Come on, you filthy, slimy, mangy cur!"

A resounding crash sounded from the stairs, and the dog took off. Jack panicked.

"No! No, no, no! I didn't mean it!" His shoulders dropped in defeat. He cast a sly glance at Genesis. "Must be a female."

She opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off by the unconscious body of a soldier being tossed down the stairs, followed by two menacing-looking pirates.

"This ain't the armory," said one, looking around. Jack stood up, standing stiffly at attention.

"Well, well, well," said the second, darker one. "Look what we have here, Twigg. Captain Jack Sparrow." He eyed Genesis up and down lecherously, and she shrank away from the bars, stepping behind Jack. "And a little treat."

Twigg stepped up, spitting on Jack's boots. Jack wrinkled his nose and wiped his boot on the bars of the cell.

"Last time I saw you," Twigg hissed, "you were all alone on a godforsaken island, shrinking into the distance." He laughed, turning to the other pirate. "His fortunes ain't improved much."

"Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen," Jack said in an icy tone Gen hadn't heard him use before. "The deepest circle of Hell is reserved for betrayers and _mutineers_."

Gen made a rather embarrassing yelp as the darker pirate lashed his arm out, grabbing Jack by the throat. The moonlight shone onto the pirate's arm, and flesh and cloth melted away to reveal nothing but a skeletal frame. Gen gaped, while Jack simply contemplated it.

"So there is a curse," he said softly. "That's interesting."

"You know nothing of Hell," the pirate growled, releasing Jack rather roughly. He stumbled back into Gen, who put her arms on his shoulders to steady him. They watched the pirates leave.

"That's very interesting," Jack muttered, rubbing his neck where the ghostly hand had held him.

He remained silent while Gen stared at him. She finally tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hmm?"

"What the hell was that?"

"Oh," he said, looking in the direction in which the pirates had gone. "They're cursed pirates."

"I'm so glad we met Jack, I'd miss so many details without you," Gen said, rolling her eyes. He smirked at her. "Do you know how? Or what the curse is?"

"I've heard a lot of stories," Jack said. "Not sure which one is true, if any."

"How about you tell me all of them?" Gen said, settling back down on the floor. She patted the floor next to her. "Not like we have much else to do."

Jack gave her a half-smile and plopped down beside her. She leaned against him, clearly craving his body warmth. He sighed and put an arm around her. It was a tad chilly, and if the lass wanted to get close, well, who was he to say no?

"Well, one theory says…"

Rosalyn grunted as she was pulled aboard the _Black Pearl_, landing in a rather unglorious heap of bluish gray cotton and lacy petticoats.

"Bloody dress," she muttered as she was pulled to her feet by someone. Whether it was a pirate or Elizabeth, she couldn't be sure. She gaped at a huge, dark pirate who had suddenly appeared, his skin riddled with strange designs and bumps.

"I didn't know we was taking on captives," the pirate, Bo'sun, said, his voice reminding Rosalyn vaguely of Mufasa. She pictured him suddenly with a mane, and had to suppress a snicker, despite their dire situation.

"She's invoked the right of parley with Captain Barbossa," Pintel explained with a smile that wasn't entirely genuine.

Elizabeth strode forward. "I am here to negotiate --" She was cut off by a harsh, back-handed slap from the giant pirate.

"You will speak when spoken to," he roared. Roz rushed forward to help Elizabeth, and he appeared ready to strike her as well, when his hand was grabbed from behind. The two women flinched, taking a step back, as Captain Barbossa came into view. He was eyeing the two women with a strange look in his yellowed eyes, and Elizabeth hugged herself, apparently feeling naked in only her nightclothes. Barbossa looked to Bo'sun.

"And ye'll not lay a hand on those under the protection of parley," he said smoothly, his eyes traveling back to the women.

Bo'sun looked like he had a bad taste in his mouth. "Aye, sir." He tore his arm from his captain's grasp and stalked off. Barbossa gave Elizabeth a chilling smile.

"My apologies, ladies," he said.

"Captain Barbossa," Elizabeth said, her voice cracking slightly. She cleared her throat and continued. "I am here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against Port Royal."

"There are a lot of long words in there, miss," Barbossa said with a chuckle. "We're naught but humble pirates. What is it that you want?"

"I want you to leave and never come back."

Elizabeth's request was met by raucous laughter from the crew, and an amused sneer from Barbossa.

"I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request," Barbossa said. Elizabeth looked stunned.

"Means 'no,'" Roz said with a sigh. Barbossa eyed her for a moment, but his attention was caught by Elizabeth as she pulled the medallion from her neck, crossing to the railing of the ship.

"Very well," she said, with that air of indignation only the aristocratic can muster. "I'll drop it." She held the medallion over the edge, dangling it above the smoke-covered water below. Barbossa laughed uneasily.

"Me holds are burstin' with swag," he said, looking to his men for support in his charade. They nodded. "That bit o' shine matters to us? Why?"

"It's what you've been searching for," Elizabeth said, her confidence in her plan slipping away. "I recognize this ship. I saw it eight years ago on the crossing from England."

"Did you, now?" Barbossa said, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine," Elizabeth said, that aristocratic air popping up again. "Well, I suppose if it is worthless, then there's no point in me keeping it." Keeping a grip on the chain, she let the medallion drop a few inches. Rosalyn was released as all of the pirates lunged forward as if to catch the medallion. Elizabeth smiled, raising an eyebrow at the pirates' reactions.

"Ah," Barbossa said, chuckling at Elizabeth. "You have a name, Missy?"

"Elizabeth Turner," Elizabeth replied, giving a little curtsy that Roz thought was very out of place. "I'm a maid in the governor's household." The pirates began murmuring excitedly.

Barbossa nodded a strange glint in his eye, then suddenly glanced at Rosalyn. "And your companion?"

"Rosalyn O'Brien," she said quickly, eyeing Elizabeth.

"And you're also a 'maid?'" he asked, crossing over to her. The way he said it made Roz positive that he hadn't believed Elizabeth's lie.

"Yes," Rosalyn said, back away as her approached. She glanced at Elizabeth's filmy dressing robe. "She's wearing the correct uniform, though. Mine was at the cleaner's, so they gave me a dress. The governor likes us lacy."

Elizabeth glared at Rosalyn, while Barbossa laughed heartily. "A man after me own heart," he said, grinning at Rosalyn, whose insides twisted over themselves as she backed away from him. He turned back to Elizabeth. "And how does a maid come to own a trinket such as that? Family heirloom, perhaps?"

Elizabeth looked indignant. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you mean."

"Very well," Barbossa said. "You hand it over, and we'll put your town to our rudder and ne'er return."

Rosalyn ripped her arm from the pirate's grasp, moving to Elizabeth's side. "You don't want to do that," she whispered harshly.

"My duty lies with Port Royal," Elizabeth said with a dignified air. "If I have the ability to keep it safe, I'll use that ability."

Before Roz could protest, Elizabeth handed Barbossa the medallion. He grinned, and Elizabeth's proud countenance fell a bit. "Our bargain?"

Barbossa's smile went with him as he turned to walk away. Bo'sun began shouting commands to the others, and they began to make good to leave.

"I hate heroines," Rosalyn muttered as Elizabeth moved to follow Barbossa.

"Wait!" she shouted. "You have to take me to shore! According to the Code of the Order of the Brethren -"

Rosalyn rolled her eyes at Elizabeth's rambling, grabbing the gabbing woman and pulling her back as Barbossa whipped around to face her.

"First," he said in a tone that was half-amused, half-exasperated. "Your return to shore was not part of our negotiations nor our agreement, so I must do nothing. And secondly, you must be a pirate for the pirate's code to apply, and you're not."

"He's right, you know," Roz said with a shrug. "Reading a book doesn't make you the scum of the seas, filthy water riders, disgusting -"

"And thirdly," Barbossa said sharply, giving Rosalyn a glare. "The code is more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules. Welcome aboard the _Black Pearl_, ladies." He eyed Elizabeth. "I suggest you begin listening to your friend."

"Take them down below," he said to Bo'sun with a poisoned smile. "Make 'em comfortable."

"I'm awfully comfy up here," Rosalyn said, yelping as the huge pirate grabbed both her and Elizabeth by the arm and roughly led them down into the heart of the ship, finally pushing them into a room and locking the door behind him.

"I think he fancies me," Roz said, looking at the locked door. She turned to Elizabeth, who was going to every nook and cranny of the room, looking for an escape. Rosalyn sighed, moving toward the large bed on the opposite side of the room and flopping down onto it. "You might as well give up."

Elizabeth whipped around in anger. "And why is that, exactly?"

"Because," Rosalyn said, crossing her legs and propping her head up with her hands. "One, there isn't any way out, other than that door. Unless you have a handy way of breaking through a wall, in that case, break away. And two, we are on a _ship_ at least two hundred yards from shore, and everybody already saw your stupendous swimming ability earlier today."

"I was _unconscious_," Elizabeth snapped. "And I…you saw me in the water? The only ones there were soldiers…"

Rosalyn raised an eyebrow as a look of recognition passed over Elizabeth's pretty face.

"You're the soldier," she said quietly, staring wide-eyed at Rosalyn. "The one that Morgan woman grabbed. I knew I recognized you. You're…"

Rosalyn scowled as Elizabeth's eyes swept over her body. "I'm female, yes, thanks."

"But you were a soldier," Elizabeth muttered.

"I was disguised as a soldier. Much like I'm disguised as a maid right now."

"Disguised as a maid?" Elizabeth said, raising an eyebrow. "Then what are you really?"

Rosalyn stared blankly at her for a moment. She looked like she was giving a look of surprised indignation, but really, she was racking her brain for a brilliant plot.

Ah-hah.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, sitting up. "I'm clearly your bodyguard."

"My what?"

"Your bodyguard," Rosalyn repeated. "I was hired to protect you with my life."

Elizabeth looked incredulous. "Hired by whom?"

"Commodore Norrington," Roz replied quickly. "And your father."

"They sent another woman to protect me?" she asked. "What can you do that I can't do myself?"

Roz paused. Well, she was awfully good at making homemade paper…

"I'm psychic."

All right, not sure where that came from…

"You're what?"

"I can predict the future."

Any time would be a good time to shut up.

"Prove it."

Shutting up was never Rosalyn's strong suit.

"Well, it comes in spurts," Rosalyn said. "I can't just say what's going to happen…I see flashes of things."

"Can you see a 'flash' now?"

"Let's just say 'beware of the apple.'"

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "An apple?" she asked flatly.

"Don't question my otherwordly authority, woman."


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__I'd like to apologize to anyone who took offense to my original summary in which I referred to the "monotony" of the romantic fics around the site. It came out in a far more negative way than I had meant it to. I adore romantic fictions, and I meant that my story was a step away from that, just a bit of fun, light fluff instead of a more dramatic story. So I apologize, and have changed my wording._

**Chapter 8: In Which Will Gains Some Brownie Points**

The sound of waves and seagulls woke her up. Genesis groaned, mumbling something about not wanting to go to work. She heard, or rather felt, a chuckle beneath her. She scowled, opening one eye to look up at the barred window, sunlight pouring in.

Barred?

She moaned again, trying to remember if she had been drinking the night before, and if she had done anything that would send her to jail. Then she remembered. And cursed.

Her pillow chuckled again.

She slowly turned over to see a handsome face surrounded by a mass of dark hair.

"Welcome to the realm of consciousness, lass," Jack said in a low, rumbling tone.

"Ugh."

"Well, not what I usually hear from the women I wake up with, but good morning to you too," he said with a grin.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"I'd say around 11:00 in the morning," Jack replied looking out at the sun. "We hang at noon."

"Oh," Gen replied shortly. She sat up, turning to look at him seriously. "Jack, there's something I have to tell you before we're hanged."

"What's that, love?"

"You were the best pillow I've ever had."

Jack chuckled. "You're not such a bad blanket yourself, Miss Morgan."

"Gen."

"Pardon?"

"Call me Gen."

Jack smiled, watching her stretch out the kinks of last night's sleep. "Gen it is, then."

Gen leaned against the wall, looking out the window, as Jack picked up the bone of the previous night's activities and began to rub it quickly against the bars of their cell, sharpening it to a point slowly. She raised an eyebrow as he finally got it to the shape he desired and stuck it into the lock.

"Oh," she said. "Sophisticated."

"Well, your ability to sit there and look good enough to eat, while fascinating, is hardly going to get us out of here."

"Thank you, I think, and I'm waiting for the opportune moment, I'll have you know."

The sound of footsteps descending the stairs kept Jack from responding. Gen gave him a rather superior look and smile, then took to braiding a small lock of her hair.

"'Allo, love," she said as Will approached, not even looking up. Jack had dropped the bone, laying back on the cell floor innocently.

"You!" Will said. "Sparrow!"

"Aye," Jack said, looking up as if he hadn't noticed Will practically falling down the stairs in his haste.

"You are familiar with that ship, the _Black Pearl_?"

Jack cast a glance at Genesis, then looked back to Will. "I've heard of it."

"Where does it make berth?"

"It gets me so hot when you go all nautical," Gen teased Will flushed furiously, and Jack smirked.

"'Where does it make berth?'" he repeated. "Have you not heard the stories?" He sat up. "Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the dreaded Isla de Muerta. It's an island that cannot be found except by those who already know where it is."

By this time, Genesis had begun whistling the X-Files theme.

"The ship's real enough," Will said, furrowing his brow. "Therefore its anchorage must be a real place. Where it is?"

"Why ask me?" Jack asked, studying his nails.

"Because you're a pirate?"

"Well, that's awfully rude," Gen piped up. "Just because he's a pirate means he knows where the Island o' Death is? That's like assuming all black people like fried chicken and malt liquor." She gasped. "You're racist!"

"What is racist?" Will asked, confused.

"Never mind, whitey."

"So you want to turn pirate yourself, is that it?" Jack asked, interrupting the two.

"Never!"

"RACIST!"

"I'm not racist!" Will said, clearly still unsure of what it was. He sighed, defeated. "They took Miss Swann."

Jack brightened. "Oh, so it _is_ that you've found a girl. I see." He propped his head up with his hands casually. "Well, if you're intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue, and so win fair lady's heart you'll have to do it alone, mate. I see no profit in it for me."

"I can get you out of here."

"How's that?" Jack asked. "Key's run off."

"Who's fault was that?" Gen asked. Jack glared at her.

"I helped build these cells," Will said, examining the door. "These are half pin-barrel hinges." He pulled a bench over and wedged it tightly against the cell door. "With the right leverage and proper application of strength, the door will lift free."

Jack tilted his head at Will. "What's your name?"

"Will Turner."

"That will be short for William, I imagine," Jack said absently, clearly mulling the name over in his head. "Good strong name. No doubt named for your father, eh?"

"Yes," Will said slowly, clearly suspicious of this new line of questioning.

"Uh-huh," Jack said, hopping to his feet. "Well, Mr. Turner, I've changed me mind. If you spring us from this cell, I swear on pain of death I shall take you to the _Black Pearl_, and your bonny lass. Do we have an accord?"

"Why her?" Will asked, nodding towards Genesis.

Jack turned to his companion, shrugging. "Yes, Gen," he said. "Why should our valiant Mr. Turner break you out as well?"

Gen narrowed her eyes at Jack for leaving her hanging, then smiled at Will. "Because there has to be someone around with breasts to distract Jack from ravishing your dear Elizabeth," she said matter-of-factly. "He is a pirate, after all."

Jack turned to Will. "See?" he said. "She's sure to come in handy."

Will wrinkled his nose, and stuck his hand through the bars. "Agreed."

"Agreed," Jack said, shaking Will's hand briefly. "Get us out."

Will grunted as he pushed the bench against the bottom of the cell door, lifting it free. "Hurry. Someone will have heard that."

"Not without our effects," Jack said, hurrying toward the pegs on the wall that held his belongings and Gen's bag. He tossed the bag her way, and she caught it, looping it over her shoulder.

"Why bother with that?" Will said, eyeing Jack's pistol. "You could've escaped if you'd killed me before but you weren't willing to use it."

"Are you advising me that was a mistake?" Jack asked, cocking the pistol and pointing it at Will. It was the second time Will had stared down its dark barrel in the past two days. Gen was rather impressed that he seemed to take it in stride. Jack cocked his head as Will slowly reached for his sword. "When you've only got one shot, it's best to wait for the opportune moment. That wasn't it."

There was a moment of silence, and Genesis wondered fleetingly if Jack was actually going to shoot the blacksmith. He wasn't supposed to…but she didn't remember this in the movie. What if something had gone wrong.

"Don'tshoottheeunuchdon'tshoottheeunuchdon'tshoottheeunuch…"

"Neither is this," Jack finished, putting his pistol back to half-cock and slipping it into his belt.

"Miss Morgan."

Gen spun on her heel to look at Will. He held a sword. A copper filigree hilt, and flame-covered blade. Her sword.

He tossed it her way, and she caught it carefully, a bit clumsily, making sure not to touch the sharp blade. She gave it a quick spin, and glanced back at him.

"Thought you might need it," he said simply. "It's one of my lighter swords."

"Thanks, Willy," she said with a grin. "Maybe you're not so bad after all."

He frowned at her nickname. "We'll see if the same goes for you."

"Leaving!" Jack's voice echoed down the stairs. Will threw Gen a sheath with a buckle, and she attached it to her belt, sliding the sword into its new home at her hip, before they both took off, following the pirate captain.

Jack, Will, and Genesis made their way stealthily out of the gaol, finding themselves underneath a bridge, looking out at the _Dauntless_.

"We're going to steal a ship," Will asked absently, as if he couldn't believe what he was about to do. "That ship?"

"Commandeer," Jack corrected. "We're going to _commandeer_ that ship. Nautical term." He grinned at Gen, in regards to her previous sarcastic statement of the effect Will's nautical language had on her. She shook her head.

"No effect on me at all, Captain Sparrow," she said cheerfully. "You're no blacksmith."

Will grimaced a bit, causing identical snickers from Jack and Gen. Jack peered out at the ship, then turned to Will. "One question about your business, boy, or there's no use going. This girl…how far are you willing to go to save her?"

"I'd die for her," Will replied, his tone icy and passionate. Gen raised her eyebrows. Jack turned to her.

"And you, love," he said. "What reasons do you have for joining us?"

"I've always wanted to go on a cruise."

"Oh, good. No worries, then."

Minutes later, the trio were underneath an overturned boat, treading water.

"This is either madness or brilliance," Will said from behind Genesis.

"It's remarkable how often those two traits coincide," Jack quipped. Gen snickered, which turned into a round of stifled giggling as she stepped over a lobster trap, and Will failed to do the same.

They reached a rope hanging down from the _Dauntless_, climbing up as quietly as possible. Gen went last, knowing the two men would have an easier time of it. Her arms burned as she ascended the rope; her upper body strength really sucked. She'd have to work on that.

Will silently pulled Gen aboard by the wrist, and Jack pulled out his sword, walking straight into the throng of armed soldiers.

"Everyone stay calm!" he announced. "We are taking over this ship."

"Aye!" Will cried dramatically. "Avast!"

The men laughed and Jack looked disgusted.

"I hate you," Gen said. "I hate you so very much."

"This ship cannot be crewed by two men," Gillette said. Gen snorted indignantly, but he ignored her. "You'll never make it out of the bay."

Jack pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Gillette's nose. "Son, I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, savvy?"

The other soldiers began to aim their guns, but paused when two blades, held by Gen and Will, made their way to the lieutenant's throat as well.

"Commodore!"

Commodore Norrington looked up from his map on the deck of the _Interceptor_ to see his second-in-command waving his arms wildly in a longboat. Gen watched him from her spot near the helm of the _Dauntless_ as he looked up to see her. She waved, blowing him a kiss.

"Here they come," Will said as the _Interceptor_ began to give chase. Jack smiled from behind the helm, not attempting to flee.

The soldiers were distracted by the quick departure of the _Interceptor_, giving Gen, Jack, and Will plenty of time to climb up to one of the higher points of the _Dauntless_. They gripped three ropes, ducking down so that they weren't seen.

The _Interceptor_ pulled up next to the _Dauntless_, and soldiers, including Norrington, climbed aboard the larger ship. Gen swallowed a lump in her throat as Will and Jack pushed off from the platform they were on, swinging to the _Interceptor_. She followed, holding her breath until she dropped down onto the fast ship's deck. Will flew to the helm, making a sharp turn away from the _Dauntless_, and Jack took the opportunity to gloat.

"Thank you, Commodore, for getting us ready to make way," he said with a grin. "We'd have had a hard time of it by ourselves."

Norrington turned to his men and began shouting orders, desperate to catch them. Gen grinned. She'd helped Jack disable the rudder herself; they'd never be able to catch them in time.

"See you later, handsome," she shouted to Norrington, who looked about to burst. She smiled and jumped down from the platform she was on to help Will tie down the sails.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Theodore Groves sidled up to Commodore Norrington, dark eyes trained on the retreating form of the _Interceptor_. Norrington's head was bowed in exasperation, but Groves, as per usual, paid little heed to his superior officer's (and friend's) dour mood.

"Those have to be the best pirates I've ever seen."

Norrington released an irritated sigh and raised his head. His eyes narrowed slightly as he watched Sparrow seemingly instructing the girl on working the sails. The scene caused a fleeting look of curiosity flicker over the commodore's face before it once again fell into an expression of annoyance.

"So it would seem."

_**Reviewer Responses:**_

_**Jilly**__ – Please see the above author's note, if you are indeed reading this story still. However, you're clearly under the impression that is a purely self-insert story, which it is not. Genesis and Rosalyn, while based on real people (and each are really more of a mixture of multiple persons), are entirely fictional. I apologize if I offended you, but please do not demean my work simply because you thought I was slamming other authors' choices of genre._

_**Verity Strange**__ – I'm glad that you like it, darling! And yes, Genesis and Rosalyn have both seen CotBP before, so they ultimately know most of what will be happening. However, I imagine that if _I_ were sucked into the movie, I'd have a sense of disorientation and not always know exactly what was going to happen. I try to show this in Genesis, such as when she first met Norrington and forgot he was coming, let alone about to hold a sword to his throat. For the sake of keeping her true identity safe, she also pretends not to know; she knows certain things have to happen, even if she doesn't like them. Rosalyn, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care much about sharing her knowledge of the future; she just claims to be psychic. LOL._

_**Queenofinsanity**__ – Hello again, my dear! I knew you'd be among the first reviewers. And here are some more chapters; not quite as quick as you'd been hoping, but hopefully you still approve. XD _


	9. Chapter 9

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__And they're off! Finally, some real pirating, eh? And now we have Genesis' stage debut! In a lovely, saucy wench's outfit, no less. And for those interested, the song that she sings is called "Special" and is from the Broadway musical _Avenue Q_. I highly recommend finding it and giving it a listen; it's a very fun, naughty, cheeky song. Heck, the whole show is rather fun, naughty, and cheeky._

**Chapter 9: In Which Gen is Nominated For a Tony**

"Step left. Parry. Thrust. No, _thrust_."

Genesis' sword was knocked out of her hand by Will's more expert hand, and she growled in frustration. They had been sparring for nearly a half an hour, Will giving Gen a mini-lesson in fencing, should the need arise. He and Jack were surprised by her lack of skill in the department, given her supposed lineage and knowledge of piracy. She shrugged, claiming she preferred guns. Which was a lie. She was a lousy shot too.

Will made a swing at Gen, which she ducked. Her sword was too far across the deck; she'd never get it. So instead, she made like the pseudo-pirate she was and used what she had.

As she rose, she kicked her leg out, her foot smacking loudly against Will's elbow. He cried out, dropping his sword as if burned and clutching his elbow.

"Funny bone," she said with a grin, picking up his sword and pointing it at his throat. He continued to rub his tingling arm, and couldn't help but smile.

"You cheated," he said.

"Pirate," she replied, flipping his sword around and handing it to him. She wiped the sweat from her brow. "How about a ten minute break? I'm dying."

Will nodded and moved over to sit near Jack, who hadn't left the helm. Jack looked at Genesis approvingly as she plopped down on his other side, opening a canteen they had found below and taking a long swig.

"I knew those legs had to be good for more than being wrapped around me," he said. She choked on the water, coughing and sputtering and saying incoherent, unfriendly things about his family line. Will shook his head as he began sharpening his sword; he was beginning to grow used to his two companions' constant, crude banter. He glanced at Jack.

"When I was a lad living in England, my mother raised me by herself," he said. "After she died, I came out here, looking for my father."

"Did I miss the 'Will's backstory' cue?" Gen asked, attempting another swig of water.

"Is that so?" Jack said, uninterested.

"My father, William Turner," Will continued, eyeing Jack. "At the jail, it was only after you learned my name that you agreed to help. Since that's what I wanted, I didn't press the matter. I'm not a simpleton, Jack."

A choked laugh issued from the other side of the helm.

"You knew my father," he finished, throwing a glare at Gen before looking back to Jack.

"I knew him," Jack said, not taking his eyes off the water before them. "Probably one of the few who knew him as William Turner. Everyone else just called him Bootstrap or Bootstrap Bill."

"Bootstrap?" Will said, bewildered.

"Good man. Good pirate," Jack said, nodding. He glanced at Will, his face mockingly sincere. "I swear you look just like him."

"It's not true," Will said, standing suddenly. "He was a merchant sailor. A good, respectable man who obeyed the law."

"So he was boring?" Gen quipped.

"He was a bloody pirate," Jack said, sounding annoyed. "A scallywag."

"My father was not a pirate," Will hissed, unsheathing his sword and holding it out in front of him. Gen yawned and stood up, walking over to grab her sword and sheathing it.

"Put it away, son," Jack said wearily. "It's not worth you getting beat again."

"You didn't beat me," Will said. "You ignored the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you."

"Then that's not much incentive for me to fight fair, then, is it?" Jack replied. Without warning, he wrenched the helm to one side, sending a sail careening towards Will and Gen. Gen bent at the waist casually, the yard sailing over her head, but Will didn't fare so well. The yard hit him smack in the diaphragm, sending him out over the water as his sword clanged onto the deck. The poor blacksmith struggled to maintain his hold on the yard, glaring at Jack.

"Now," Jack said, "as long as you're just hanging there, pay attention. The only rules that really matter are these; what a man _can_ do, and what a man _can't_ do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man, or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that someday. Now, me, for example, I can let you drown, but our lovely lady friend here and I can't bring this ship into port all by our onesies, savvy? So." He yanked the helm back, sending Will tumbling ungracefully back onto the ship. Jack held Will's sword out to him.

"Can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not?"

Will took the sword tentatively. "Tortuga?"

Jack looked up at Gen and grinned. "Tortuga."

Jack was in the middle of explaining his illustrious history on the isle of Tortuga as they made their way across the docks to the dark, bustling port.

"More importantly," he was saying to his companions, "it is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy? What do you think?"

"It'll linger," Will said, wrinkling his nose.

"Nothing a good garment-burning won't fix," Gen said, looking around at the many pirates and wenches around them.

"I'll tell you, mate," Jack said conspiratorially to Will as if Gen couldn't hear him. "If every town in the world were like this one, no man would ever feel unwanted."

"Or get rid of the itch," Gen said, watching a redhead in an only-slightly-redder dress approach them.

"Scarlett!" Jack said joyfully, reaching his arms out for her. She gave him a nasty smirk and slapped him across the face, sending his head near spinning.

"Not sure I deserved that," he muttered, turning just in time to see a blonde in green stalk up.

"Giselle!"

"Who's she?" Giselle asked, gesturing toward the retreating form of Scarlett.

"What?"

Another slap.

"Feeling wanted yet?" Gen asked with a snicker.

"I may have deserved that," Jack admitted.

Without warning, Genesis spun in front of him, arm raised for another slap. He ducked back, throwing his hands up spastically to defend himself.

"What are you doing, woman!" he cried. She laughed, lowering her hand.

"You're so cute when you're defenseless," she said, grabbing him by his bearded chin and shaking his head back and forth. She winked and gave him a big kiss on the lips before taking off after the woman in green.

"Giselle, darling, can I ask you a favor? I need…"

The two men stared after her in shock.

"Should we go after her?" Will asked.

"Who?"

"Genesis."

"Oh," Jack said, snapping out of it. "No. Maybe Giselle can teach her to be a lady.

"Take what you can?"

"Give nothing back."

"Aw, you boys are bonding and leaving poor little Willy out of it."

Jack and Gibbs looked up from their negotiations to see quite the sight before them. Will turned at the sudden lack of speech.

"Miss Morgan?" he asked, gaping.

After convincing Giselle that she had nothing to do with Jack romantically, Genesis found herself a new best friend. And a new selection of wardrobe options. She wore a long red dress with short, off-shouldered sleeves underneath a black corset, laced up with gold thread. The long, red skirt was pulled up and draped through her belt in front, showing everything up to the mid-thigh, including a new black velvet and white lace garter. Her knee-high black boots and a black velvet choker completed the ensemble, and her hair, now even curlier than before thanks to Giselle and her miracle hands, was piled onto the top of her head, tendrils falling down around her face and the nape of her neck.

"You know this wench?" Gibbs said, staring at her.

"Aye," Jack said, eyeing her appreciatively. "Fortunately."

"Unfortunately, at times," Will added.

"Love you too, Willy," Gen said with a wink.

"So what's with the get-up, love?" Jack asked, leaning back to get a better look at her.

"Trying to blend in, that's all," she said, sitting on the table they were occupying, crossing one long leg over the other and leaning back casually.

"You're doing anything but, miss," Gibbs said, swallowing heavily and leaning away from her, attempting to be decent.

"Aww," she said with a grin. "At least Willy likes it."

"My name's not Willy!" Will said, throwing his hands in the air in defeat. Unfortunately, one of his hands made contact with the face of a rather burly looking one-eyed pirate walking by.

"You want a fight, sonny?" the man bellowed, grabbing Will by his vest.

It didn't take long for the entire tavern to erupt in a mess of yells and punches. Jack and Gibbs leapt from their seats, while Gen remained perched on the table.

"We're never going to get out of here," Jack said, reaching for his sword as he ducked to avoid getting clocked by a mug. Gen laid a hand over his, keeping him from drawing the blade.

"I've got an idea."

Jack and Gibbs watched in confusion as Genesis leapt from the table and ran over to the pianist on the other side of the bar, who looked about to wet his pants. After she eased him back onto his bench (okay, so she pushed him, but _seductively_), she whispered something in his ear, and leapt onto a table nearby.

Jack raised an eyebrow as the pianist began to play.

"_Do you wanna feel special?_

_I can see that you do…"_

The tavern grew quiet as the fighting men turned to look at the singing woman standing on the table. She took a deep breath and grinned.

"_I can make you feel special_

_For an hour or two…"_

Gen smirked and stepped down onto a chair, making her way to a table closer to Jack and Gibbs'.

"_Your life's a routine that repeats each day,_

_No one cares who you are, or what you say._

_And sometimes you feel like you're nobody_

_But you can feel like somebody with me."_

The last line, along with the little shimmy she did, grew leering cheers from the men, who were crowding around this new wench. She smiled coquettishly and began walking across tables until she made it to Jack. She leapt down from the table, coming to rest perched in Jack's lap.

"Let's say you two get our dear Willy out of here, eh?" she whispered in his ear (or rather, the hair covering the area she guessed his ear was in). She ran a finger down his bare chest, keeping up the façade of simply seducing another bar inhabitant. She winked, leaping from his lap and jumping back to the center table.

"_When we're together the earth will shake_

_And the stars will fall into the sea._

_So come on, baby, let down your guard._

_When your date's in the bathroom, I'll slip you my card_

_I can tell just by looking that you've got it hard for me."_

A round of applause and whistles rang through the tavern as Jack and Gibbs pulled Will to his feet and slipped quietly out the door. Jack threw a glance at Gen, who winked and disappeared into the throng. A dozen or so gropes and slaps on the read later, she joined them on their way back to the _Interceptor_.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__So, while Genesis was off singing and lap-hopping with Jack and Will, poor Rosalyn and Elizabeth were stuck on a creepy ship with a bunch of uncouth, smelly pirates. Where's the justice, I ask you? And what the hell is that monkey doing?_

**Chapter 10: In Which Roz Meets Monkey Jack**

"The edge of the bed."

"No."

"The eagle carving on the headboard."

"Negative."

"The…evening?"

"Nope."

"What the bloody hell is it?!"

"Now, now," Rosalyn said. "That's awfully bad language for a lady."

"Shut up," Elizabeth replied. "What was it?"

"You!"

"What?"

"Elizabeth!"

"Oh, Lord."

"Your turn!"

Elizabeth sighed. "I spy with my little eye…"

Elizabeth was interrupted by the door being thrown open, and Ragetti and Pintel stepping in. Pintel carried a mound of wine-colored fabric in his arms. The girls sprang to their feet.

"You'll be dinin' with the captain, Miss Turner," he said. "And he requests you wear this." He held out the dress to her.

"Well," Elizabeth said. "You may tell the captain that I am disinclined to acquiesce to his request."

Pintel chuckled. "He said you might say that. He also said if that be the case, you'll be dinin' with the crew. And you'll be naked."

Ragetti giggled, and Elizabeth snatched the dress away roughly, folding it in her arms and sticking out her jaw at him.

"Fine," Pintel said dejectedly, and the two men left the room. Elizabeth turned to look at Rosalyn with frightened eyes.

"It'll be okay," Roz said. "No death in the immediate future. Or rape. I see pork though."

Elizabeth looked at the dress, and threw it and the accompanying shift on the bed. "I hate pirates."

"But they're such sweet souls," Roz said sarcastically, picking the dress back up. It really was beautiful. "Come on. He'll just get more angry if you make him wait."

Elizabeth sighed and lifted her arms, allowing Roz to help her out of her nightgown. She eyed the red-haired girl as she laced her up.

"You're sure it's just pork?"

Rosalyn sat on the bed, slipping in and out of a nap. Elizabeth had been gone about ten minutes, and without an I Spy partner, there wasn't much to do other than sleep.

Roz sat up suddenly as a coat rack near the door tipped over. She searched the cabin with green eyes, before they finally rested on the culprit.

Monkey Jack.

"How the hell did you get in here?" she asked, looking at the closed door.

Monkey Jack began chattering, moving toward the bed she was on. She tucked her legs underneath her protectively.

"What are you doing?" she asked. She frowned. "Monkey who can't answer me."

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, revealing a small silver hoop. The monkey screeched and leapt onto the bed, making a beeline toward Rosalyn's ear. She screamed, the force of the monkey's attack sending her into a backward somersault off the bed. So anyone walking into the room, it would seem as if an invisible monkey was attacking an equally invisible girl, as they struggled rather vocally behind the bed.

"Freaking DEATH MONKEY!"

"SCREEEEEEE!"

In moments, Monkey Jack was airborne, flying to the other side of the bed. Rosalyn leapt up, hair a mess and hat falling to the ground. Monkey Jack chattered, holding up his prize, Roz's hoop earring, before leaping through a tiny pet door in the wall next to the coatrack.

"I hate monkeys."

"Rosalyn!"

Roz turned to the door to see Elizabeth run in, slamming the door behind her, looking as freshly rumpled as she was.

"Liz?" Rosalyn said, disposing herself of the rest of the name's cumbersome syllables. "What happened?"

"Pirates!" Elizabeth gasped. "Dead, cursed pirates!" She stopped, looking at Rosalyn's disheveled appearance. "What happened to you?"

"Monkey," Rosalyn replied. "Rabid klepto monkey. Pirates, go on."

Elizabeth's panicky rant continued as if it hadn't stopped. "Cursed pirates, Rosalyn!" she cried, running to close the shutters on the windows. "I went to eat with Captain Barbossa and he was so polite! _And there was pork, Rosalyn._ Suckling pig! Just like you said!"

"I am pretty gifted," Roz muttered.

"And then!" Elizabeth fell onto the bed. "And then, he offered me an apple! An apple, Rosalyn! You said to beware apples, and I knew something was amiss. Then I stabbed him with a dinner knife. Stabbed him. I stabbed him. _And he pulled the bloody thing out!_ That's when I ran outside."

She grabbed Rosalyn's hand, pulling her onto the bed beside her. Her hands were clammy. "They were dead, Rosalyn," she breathed. "Dead but _alive_. In the sunlight, they look like normal men, but at night, they're nothing but decaying flesh and bleached bones! It's horrible! Horrible!"

"Horrible."

"You don't sound very surprised."

"Oh, well, it's old news, really."

Elizabeth stared at her for a good minute. "You mean you knew about this?"

"Duh," Roz said, looking at Elizabeth as if she were slow. "Psychic."

"And you didn't think to tell me about it because…?"

"I didn't want you to swoon or weep or some other noblewoman thing."

"Have I mentioned that I don't like you very much, Rosalyn?"


	11. Chapter 11

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__Ah, our first bit of good drama. Let's see how our dear Genesis handles it, eh?_

**Chapter 11: In Which Jack Realizes that Having Women on Board May Be Bad Luck After All**

"You say her last name is Morgan?"

"Aye," Jack muttered, staring at the sea. "Not sure if she was lying or not, of course."

"Bad luck, Jack," Gibbs said solemnly. "Bad luck, she is."

"Why, because she's a woman, or because of the woman she is?"

"Do both work?" Will said, coming up behind them as they walked to the docks. Jack clapped him on the shoulder.

"Mornin' Willy, my boy!" he said cheerfully. Will scowled.

"Please, not you too," he grumbled. "It's bad enough that she calls me that without you following her lead."

"I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, son, I follow no one's lead," Jack said seriously. "I just think it's cute."

Will wrinkled his nose, color rising in his cheeks as they made their way to a line of men.

"Feast your eyes, Captain," Gibb said grandiosely. "All of them, faithful hands before the mast, every man worth his salt. And crazy to boot."

"So," Will said incredulously. "This is your able-bodied crew?" His dark eyes traveled down the line of ragtag pirates, and he looked more than a bit discouraged.

"They look good to me."

The three men, as well as the rest of the crew, turned to see where the feminine voice came from. Genesis was making her way down the docks, in an outfit that was completely and totally inappropriate for a woman at that time in history. It appeared she had been hoarding every clothing item she had come across in that bag of hers, and it showed now. She wore the white blouse, still missing a sleeve, underneath the corset she had received from Giselle. She had cut off her jeans into short shorts, over which she wore the thick leather belt and pouch from the stolen bag, her sword still sheathed at her hip. Her garter was still on her thigh, a small dagger tucked into it, and she wore her tall black boots. Her hair, a mass of curls induced by the Caribbean humidity, was worn free and wild, held back from her face by a bandana similar to Jack's, clearly made from the fabric of the dress she had worn the previous night. She had taken a page out of Jack's book, smearing dark kohl around her eyes in an attempt to dull the glare of the Caribbean sun. It was clear by the slack-jawed expressions of all of the men that the amount of skin she was showing wasn't a normal day-to-day occurrence, and she grinned at Jack, whose mouth was hanging open ever-so-slightly.

"'Allo, Cap'n," she said, coming to stand next to him, hand on her hip. "Lovely weather we're having, eh?"

"Er, yes," he said, raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm surprised you showed up, Gen. You seemed pretty comfy in Tortuga."

Genesis narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "You seemed to want to get comfy with me, Captain Sparrow," she teased.

Jack smirked, then looked back to his crew. He spotted an elderly man. "You, sailor!"

"Cotton, sir," Gibbs offered.

"Mr. Cotton," Jack said, his face comically serious. "Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?"

"How many takes 'til he got that right?" Gen muttered. Jack threw her a look before snapping at Cotton.

"Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!"

"He's a mute, sir," Gibbs explained quietly. "Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him. No one's yet figured out how."

Cotton opened his mouth to reveal that, indeed, he was tongueless, and Jack bit his tongue reflexively.

"Poor Missus Cotton," Gen said, causing Jack to choke on a laugh. Jack grunted back into Serious Captain Mode, swinging a hand back to grab Gen and pull her close to him, clamping his hand over her mouth. She struggled against him for a moment, but he continued talking.

"Mr. Cotton's…parrot," he said, clearly uncomfortable with talking to a parrot. "Same question."

"Brawk!" the parrot replied. "Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!" Gen, who had stopped struggling against Jack's stronger grip, began giggling behind his hand.

"Mostly," Gibbs said, "we figure that means 'yes.'"

"Of course it does," Jack said, clearly content with the bird's answer. He turned to Will. "Satisfied?"

"Well," Will said, pulling a face. "You've proved they're mad."

Jack looked down to the young woman in his grasp. "Are you going to be quiet now?"

Gen reached up to gently pull his hand away from her mouth. "Wind in the sails, Captain," she said with a grin. He released her as another feminine voice called out.

"And what's the benefit for us?"

Jack froze, looking at a short sailor wearing a wide-brimmed hat pulled down low. He walked tentatively over, Will and Gen close behind. He grimaced, pulling off the hat, and feigned happiness to see the beautiful dark woman underneath. "Anamaria!" he said in a friendly tone.

Slap.

"I suppose you didn't deserve that one either?" Will said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"No," Jack admitted. "That one I deserved."

"You stole my boat!" Anamaria snarled.

"Actually--"

Slap.

"Borrowed!" Jack snapped, then calmed himself down again. "Borrowed without permission. But with every intention of bringing it back to you."

"But you didn't," she countered.

"Was that the boat you sunk at Port Royal?" Gen asked innocently. Jack shot her a shut-the-hell-up look, and Anamaria looked like she was about to have kittens.

"You sunk my boat?!" she shrieked.

"You'll get another one!" Jack said, throwing up his arms to defend himself from the female fury that was before him.

"A better one," Will said, pulling Jack out of harm's way.

"A better one!" Jack said, grateful for the encouragement.

"That one!" Gen said, pointing at the _Interceptor_.

"What one?" Jack asked, looking at Gen in confusion. He followed her gaze to the ship. "That one?!"

He suddenly smiled at Anamaria, realizing this may avoid future slapping. "Aye, that one. What say you?"

Anamaria considered, glancing at Gen for a moment, before yelling "aye," the crew echoing her agreement.

"Anchors aweigh!" Cotton's parrot screeched, excited to board the ship.

"No, no, no," Gibbs whispered. "It's frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard, sir. Two is even worse."

"It'd be far worse not to have them," Jack replied, watching Anamaria and Gen chat as they made their way to the ship.

This was going to be a long voyage.

The storm swept down from out of nowhere. It was as if Barbossa had simply thrown the torrents of rain and clapping thunder back at them as a deterrent. It had come up so fast that they had no time to prepare, and they were now being thrashed by violent winds and stung by sharp splashes of salt water.

"How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn't work?" Will cried over the high winds as he and Gibbs struggled with a rope.

"Aye, the compass doesn't point north, but we're not trying to find north, are we?" Gibbs said. He looked to Jack at the helm. "We should drop canvas, sir."

"She can hold a bit longer," came the strangely cheerful reply.

"What's in your head that's put you in such a fine mood, Captain?" Gibbs asked.

Jack smiled. "We're catching up."

Another immense wave hit the ship, rocking it violently and sending another downpour of seawater onto the deck of the ship.

"The girl!"

Jack frowned at the sound of one of the men yelling. The girl?

"Miss Morgan!"

Jack turned to Will at his outburst, then followed the younger man's gaze up to the main mast. Lightning struck, lighting up the sky and revealing the cause for commotion; Genesis was dangling at the end of a rope clawing at it wildly with her free hand in an attempt to get a better grip on the wet, slippery hemp.

"Bloody hell," Jack growled. "Gibbs, take the helm!"

Gibbs obeyed, and Jack ran to the base of the mast, looking up at the flailing young woman. "Genesis! Hold on!"

"Jack! I can't!"

She wasn't lying. She lost her grip on the rope, and time seemed to stand still as the crew watched her plummet into the raging waters below.

"Gen!" Jack yelled, racing to the railing. His eyes scanned the waters, and after a moment, he saw a flash of her pale shirt a few feet below the surface as she struggled to reach the top. Jack removed his hat, grabbing a coil of rope nearby. Will was at his side immediately.

"Tie this to the mast," Jack commanded, giving Will one end of the rope as he tied himself to the other end around his waist. Making sure that both knots were tight, he made yet another dive into the water in pursuit of a young woman. He broke the surface, the salt water stinging his eyes and the unpredictable waves sending gulps of water down his throat. He coughed and sputtered, trying to catch another glimpse of her.

"Ja--"

He spun in the water frantically, spotting a hand disappearing under another harsh wave. He swam toward it, diving down beneath the torrid water. He could barely see, between the darkness and the sting of the salt, but his thrashing arms made contact with something soft, and he latched on, wrapping a strong arm around her waist and giving the rope a sharp tug. He felt a pull in return, and wrapped his other arm around her waist for support, noting in the back of his mind that she didn't return his grasp.

When he broke the water's surface, he looked up to see Will, Gibbs, and Anamaria struggling with his and Gen's weight at the other end of the rope. He looked back down to Genesis; she was limp in his arms, head falling back away from him. He frowned.

Will and Gibbs grabbed him under the arms, while Anamaria clutched Gen by the back of the shirt, and it took a joint effort to pull the unconscious girl and exhausted captain onto the deck. Jack wanted to collapse, but Gen's lips were turning a discomforting shade of purple. He crawled over to her, placing a ear to her lips. She wasn't breathing. He tugged experimentally at her corset, hoping that the solution was similar to Elizabeth's, but her corset wasn't very tightly laced. He grabbed his hat from the place it had landed nearby, placing it beneath her neck to prop her head, and placed his hands underneath her breasts, pumping firmly a few times before placing his lips over hers, sending life-giving air into her lungs.

Will watched on, unable to move. Jack pumped Gen's chest again and again, returning to her mouth multiple times without any reaction. Suddenly, her body lurched, and Jack tipped her to the side as water poured from her mouth. She coughed and sputtered, suddenly grabbing at Jack's hands and pulling herself into his arms, eyes frantic and entire body trembling. To Will's surprise, Jack's arms flew tightly around the girl, rubbing at her arms in an attempt to warm her newly revived body.

"S'okay, love," he muttered. "S'okay."

"She seems more trouble than she's worth," Anamaria said coldly, staring at the trembling younger woman.

"I knew that when I brought her aboard," Jack replied in a blank tone.

Gen loosened her grip on Jack's shirt, looking up at him with a little smile. "You know, Jack," she said in a small voice. "If you wanted to kiss me, you could've just asked."

Jack grinned back down at her. "I'm a pirate, love. We don't ask permission for anything."

He stood, pulling Genesis to her feet as well. She stumbled, her legs shaky, and Will rushed forward to catch her.

"Hi, Willy."

"Miss Morgan."

"Take her to the captain's cabin," Jack said, smirking at the exchange between the two rival-friends. "She'll need some good rest. Make sure she gets something to eat, too, aye, mate?"

As Will helped Genesis away, Jack noticed Anamaria's gaze was still on Genesis, and still icy. "Jealous, love?"

Her dark gaze turned on him. "Never," she replied. "I just don't like distractions that slow us down."

With that, the dark woman turned on her heel and stormed away, leaving Jack and Gibbs alone on the starboard deck. Jack looked to Gibbs, who opened his mouth to say something, but was silenced by the raising of Jack's hand.

"Don't start," the captain said tiredly, making his way back to the helm.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__Tell me this chapter does not make you picture Will in a candy striper uniform. I dare you._

**Chapter 12: In Which Will Plays Nurse**

"Ouch! Dammit!"

"You're one to talk about bad language."

Rosalyn rubbed the back of her hands, which were a vibrant shade of pink from the game of Red Hands they were now playing to keep themselves preoccupied. Elizabeth held her hand out, palms down, ready for another round. Rosalyn scowled.

"I give up," she said, pushing Elizabeth's hands down. "I'd like to keep the remaining nerve endings, thank you."

Elizabeth smirked, leaning back against the headboard. "I'm so bored."

"Not for long," Rosalyn said, hearing footsteps. Elizabeth frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Roz glanced at the door as it opened suddenly, Pintel and Ragetti once again stepping into the room. Elizabeth leapt to her feet again; Rosalyn noticed that standing seemed to make Elizabeth more confident, as she did it every time the pirates entered the room.

"Time to go, poppet," Pintel said as Ragetti snatched Elizabeth's arm. Rosalyn stood to join them, but Pintel pushed her back onto the bed.

"Not you, wench," he said.

"Wench," Ragetti repeated.

"What?" Elizabeth said, alarmed.

"Let's go, poppet," Pintel said as Ragetti began dragging her out the door.

"No!" Elizabeth shouted. "Rosalyn!"

"Elizabeth!" Roz shouted, trying to push pass Pintel.

"Rosalyn!"

Roz froze as the door closed and locked again. They were taking Elizabeth away, and she couldn't stop them.

Genesis lay in the large, plush bed in the captain's quarters, flipping through a nautical book she had found on a bookshelf. It was boring as all hell, but there was nothing else to look at but atlases, so she figured she'd brush up on some terminology while she was bedridden. Against her will, she felt compelled to say. Will had turned out to be quite the little nurse, refusing to let her out of the bed for anything short of relieving her bladder.

She looked up as the door creaked, expecting to see Will with a cup of tea for the fourth time today. She pictured him in a little white nurse's uniform for a moment, and smirked. However, Will didn't step in with said refreshments; instead, it was Jack.

"Captain," she said with a little smile, closing the book and placing it into her lap.

"Milady," he said in a soft tone. He walked in and gently closed the door behind him. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine," she said, rolling her eyes. "As fine as I've felt for the last six hours. Nurse Turner won't believe me."

"I told him not to," Jack said, crossing the room to the bed. "You almost drowned; your body may still be in shock, so it's best that you take it easy for a while, savvy?"

"Savvy," Gen replied, obviously not happy about it, but not in the mood to argue. She patted the bed next to her. "Sit down. It's awfully boring in here, and the only person I've had to talk to is Will." She wrinkled his nose.

Jack chuckled as he took a seat next to her, leaning back against the headboard and stretching his legs out in front of him. "I'm dreadfully sorry."

"You should be," Gen said with a grin. She sighed, looking away for a moment. "Thank you."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "For?"

"You know," she said uncomfortably. "Yesterday. Getting me out of the water and all."

"Oh, for saving your life?" Jack said, a bit annoyed that she was downplaying the event.

"Oh, well that's melodramatic," she said with a smirk. He frowned at her.

"What were you doing up there, anyway?" he asked.

"I was in the crow's nest when the storm hit," she explained. "The wind was so strong, it threw me out onto the mast. Which was slippery. So I grabbed the rope, which, we all now know, was also rather slippery."

"Oh," he said. He couldn't yell at her now that he knew she was actually helping out, and it was a complete accident that she had fallen.

"Jack, can I confess something?"

"Eh?"

"If I tell you something, do you promise not to think I'm insane?"

"I already think you're insane, love," he said. "Nothing you say can possibly strengthen that already profound opinion I have of you."

"I'm from the future."

"I stand corrected."

"Fine, don't believe me."

"I won't."

Gen sat upright as Jack swung his legs of the bed and stood up, moving toward the door. "Where are you going?"

"Out."

"Can I come?"

"Genesis," he said warningly.

"Please, Jack, I--"

"Captain."

"_Captain_," she said slowly. "I just want some fresh air. No trouble, I promise."

Jack eyed her. For such a naughty little thing, she did have an uncanny way of looking youthfully innocent. He sighed. "All right."

Genesis beamed and threw her covers off, revealing the fact that she was still wearing her boots. He raised an eyebrow, and she smiled sheepishly.

"I was going to make a break for it next time Will left," she admitted. He smiled and made an elegant bow.

"Miss Morgan," he said, offering his arm.

"Why, Captain Sparrow," she said, fanning herself with her hand. "How gentlemanly of you." She smiled and took his arm as he escorted her out of the room, feigning an overdramatic aristocratic air that sent Genesis into a giggling fit. They came across Gibbs and Will chatting with their backs to them.

"What did he use for rope?"

"Human hair," Genesis answered. The two men turned to see the pair.

"From my back," Jack finished. He released Gen's arm and headed for the helm. "Let go of the anchor!"

"Feeling better, miss?" Gibbs asked Genesis.

"Yes, thanks to my faithful nurse," she said, reaching over to rumple Will's hair. He slapped her hands away, causing Gibbs to guffaw loudly.

"Mr. Turner and I are to go ashore," Jack said, suddenly reappearing. Gen looked at him, pulling a face.

"What about me?" she asked. He glanced at her.

"What about you?"

"I have to stay here?" she said, her voice raising slightly in pitch.

"I see no reason for you to accompany us."

Gen's mouth opened, shut, and reopened a few times in her shock. She racked her brain for any bullshit excuse she could come up with. She suddenly remembered Rosalyn's words. _"I'll stay with Elizabeth."_

"They have Rosalyn."

Jack raised an eyebrow as Gen said the statement, looking as if she was saying it to herself as opposed to him. "Pardon?"

"They have Rosalyn," she said, sounding panicked. She looked at him, her eyes wide. "My best friend. She was with Elizabeth when she was kidnapped. Oh my God, they have Rosalyn..."

Will looked to Jack, his eyes concerned. "They have two women, Jack."

"Thank you for summarizing, William."

"We could use all the help we can get," Will offered.

"She's not ready."

"You haven't been teaching her," Will countered. He glanced at Genesis, who was looking awfully pale. "I have."

Jack sighed and looked at Gen. "I'm going to ask you the same thing I asked Mr. Turner," he said seriously. "How far are you willing to go to save this Rosalyn lass?"

"If making you into a eunuch and wearing your ribcage as a hat meant saving her, I'd do it."

"Well," Jack said. "That's settled. And remind me never to kidnap your friends, love."

"Captain," Gibbs said quietly. "What if the worst should happen?"

Jack hesitated, his eyes meeting Genesis'. "Keep to the Code." Gen looked at him, concern etched across her face, and then she lowered her gaze.

"Aye," Gibbs said solemnly. "The code."


	13. Chapter 13

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

**Chapter 13: In Which The Trio Attempts a Rescue**

Jack noticed that Genesis was strangely quiet during the boat ride to the caves. Her face was still rather pale, and he had the feeling that she hadn't wrapped the fate of this friend of hers around her brain until then. He frowned; she was hiding something.

They currently sat hidden in a rocky outcropping near the cave entrance, Jack looking at the _Black Pearl_ through his spyglass as they bobbed lightly in the waves. Will sat beside him, and Genesis sat silently behind the two men.

"Is she there?" Will asked, futilely looking for Elizabeth on the dark decks with his naked eye.

"No," Jack muttered, lowering the spyglass.

Will cast an alarmed glance at Jack. "Where is she?"

Jack looked somber. "It's begun," he said, snapping the spyglass closed and taking the oars. The trio fell once again into an uncomfortable quietness as he rowed into the caves.

"What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?" Will asked, breaking through the silence. Gen glanced at him for a moment, before returning her worried gaze to the softly rippling water.

"Pirate's Code," Jack said.

"Any man that falls behind is left behind," Genesis explained softly.

"No heroes among thieves, eh?"

"You know," Jack said, pulling back at the oars and propelling them smoothly through the cavern. "For having such a bleak outlook on pirates, you're well on your way to becoming one. Sprung two criminals from jail, commandeered a ship of the Fleet, sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga."

Jack noticed that Will's gaze had traveled to the sparkling doubloons that the boat was currently cruising over. "And you're completely obsessed with treasure."

"That's not true," Will said, brow furrowed indignantly. "I am not obsessed with treasure."

"Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate," Jack said quietly as they reached shore. They quietly climbed an outcropping of rock to spot the mass of pirates, with Barbossa and Elizabeth standing at the pinnacle of a mound of treasure.

"Elizabeth," Will breathed. Genesis scanned the crowd, looking for a flash of familiar auburn hair.

"She's not here," she whispered. Jack glanced at her; her face was even whiter than before, and she looked like she wanted to fall apart. "She's not here."

Barbossa continued his grandiose speech, suddenly aiming a dagger at the medallion that hung from Elizabeth's slender neck.

"Jack!" Will exclaimed, getting ready to move. Gen pulled him back down, upsetting some coins. She spotted the monkey, and it spotted her back. She cursed under her breath and glared at Will.

"Not yet," she hissed.

"We wait for the opportune moment," Jack said, surveying their surroundings.

"When's that?" Will said, sounding more like an arrogant hero than ever before. "When it's of greatest profit to you?"

"May I ask you something?" Jack whispered in a tired tone. "Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? Do us a favor; I know it's difficult for you, but please, stay here, and try not to do anything stupid."

He glanced further down the passage. "Will, keep an eye out here. Gen and I will find other vantage points. I'll whistle when it's time."

With that instruction, he grabbed Genesis by the wrist, pulling her away from the view, and continued down the tunnel, ducking behind pillars of stone as Barbossa continued.

"You stay right behind this pillar," he whispered, suddenly stopping and turning to face her. "Remember my sig--"

Gen hopped back as Jack slumped to the floor, expecting to see a pirate behind him. Instead, Will stood there, holding an oar above his head. She took another step back. "Will? What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to be his leverage," Will said firmly. He raised the oar higher. "Or yours."

"Will," she pleaded. "You can't hit me. You're a gentleman, remember?"

Will paused, then let the oar drop. "You're right," he said. "It's a good thing I found this rope in the lifeboat." He raised the coil of rope.

Gen growled and reached for her sword, unsheathing it. Before she knew could defend herself, he had grabbed her wrist, twisting it painfully until he could wrench the sword from her hand. She yelped and jerked her hand away before he could make another grab at her, sprinting fast down the corridor. Will moved to chase her, then remembered what he came here for, and turned to run off. A glint in the shadows caught his eye, and he bent down to pick up the sword Gen had dropped. He frowned, and stuck the sword through his belt, imagining it would have to be a peace offering if he ran into her later and required her aid.

Genesis continued to run away from Will, ducking behind pillars to check out what was going on in the main chamber. She peeked around a pillar, noticing that Elizabeth was no longer visible. She frowned, biting her lip nervously. Will had clearly already snatched her away, and they had probably taken the damned lifeboat too.

"Bloody non-pirates," Gen muttered. She turned to make her way back to the entrance of the cave, but ran into a wall. A wall that grabbed her. She looked up into the dark, frightening face of Bo'sun.

"I don't suppose I can use a get out of jail free card?" she asked in a small voice. He growled and grabbed her by the back of the collar, dragging her out to the main area, where Jack had suddenly appeared before Barbossa.

Barbossa had been taunting Jack when he caught sight of his mammoth crewman pushing a young woman into the crowd. He paused, eyeing the girl's revealing outfit.

"Well, well," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "What's this? A little stowaway?"

"Wow," Gen said, looking at the surrounding men. "Not a lot of Irish Spring on the high seas, eh?" She was rewarded by Bo'sun grabbing a fistful of hair and wrenching her head back. She hissed at the sudden pain.

Barbossa sneered, glancing back at Jack. "Do you know this wench, Jack?"

Jack gave Genesis a once over. "Can't say that I do."

Barbossa moved down the pile of treasure he was standing on, stepping very close to Genesis. "Is this true, lass?"

"Aye," she replied in an icy tone. Jack nearly sighed in relief, glad that his newfound companion was so quick to catch on.

"Is that so?" Barbossa said with a cold smile. He raised a hand, grabbing her chin and moving her face so he could get a better look at her. He glanced at Jack, gauging his reaction. When Jack didn't flinch, he grabbed Genesis, spinning her around and pinning her to his body, pulling out a knife and holding it to her throat. Jack lost his composure for a split second, making an almost imperceptible movement toward Genesis. It was the only sign Barbossa needed.

"Lying to me, are you, Jack?" he said. He grinned, leaning his face towards Gen's hair and breathing it in deeply. "How would you like it, my dear lass, to see your Captain Jack Sparrow blown away with shot before your very eyes?"

Every pirate in the room raised his pistol, aiming at Jack's head. Gen struggled against Barbossa's hold, eyes locked on Jack's. Jack gave her a secretive smile, then looked at Barbossa. "The girl's blood didn't work, did it?"

"Hold your fire!" Barbossa commanded. He stared at Jack, measuring his rival up. "You know whose blood we need?"

"I know whose blood you need," Jack said, the smile on his face growing wider. His eyes went to Genesis again, and Barbossa's grip on her tightened.

"Is it the wench?" he growled, grinning down at the woman in his grasp.

"No, no," Jack said. "T'would be a waste of a good pair of legs, among other pairs of things."

"Ladies and gentlemen, my defense," Gen said with a roll of her eyes. She felt Barbossa's eyes on her form and shuddered.

"Quite right, Jack," he said in a quiet tone. He grinned. "Let's go to the ship and…discuss this matter." He released Gen, pushing her roughly away and walking past her. Jack frowned.

"The lass comes as well," he said to Barbossa, not moving from his spot.

"Gone soft, have you, Jack?" Barbossa said with a sneer, pausing to look at his former captain. "Never took you for the type to settle down."

"Neither is she," Jack said, casting a look in Gen's direction.

"You won't get Bootstrap's son without me," Gen suddenly blurted. Both Jack and Barbossa turned to her slowly, Barbossa looking intrigued, Jack looking a bit confused.

"And why's that, my girl?" Barbossa asked, stepping back toward her. Gen paused.

"Because," she said in a firm tone. "I'm his sister."

This riled the pirates up, a couple of them yelling to cut her open and spill her blood. She narrowed her eyes at them.

"We share a mother," she went on quickly. "I'm useless in regards to the blood you need. But he has no reason to come to you, without me as bait."

Barbossa stepped very close to her, his dulled blue eyes burning into hers. "You're going to risk your brother's life to save your own?" he whispered. "Not very noble for a lady. Why?"

Genesis smirked. "Pirate."

Genesis sat at the wooden table in Barbossa's cabin, leaning back in her chair with her boots on the table. Barbossa kept casting her annoyed looks, which she ignored as she, Barbossa, and Jack debated over the proceedings.

"So," Barbossa was saying, "you expect to leave me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need, and watch you sail away in my ship?"

"No," Jack said, reaching for one of the appealing apples in the middle of the table. "I expect to leave you standing on some beach with absolutely no name at all, watching me sail away on _my_ ship, and then I'll shout the name back to you."

Barbossa chuckled mirthlessly. "But that still leaves us with the problem of me standing on some beach with naught but a name and your word it's the one I need."

"Of the two of us," Jack said. "I am the only one who hasn't committed mutiny, therefore, my word is the one we'll be trusting. Although I suppose I should be thanking you because, in fact, if you hadn't betrayed me and left me to die, I would have an equal share in that curse, same as you." He bit into the apple. "Funny ol' world, innit?" He noticed Barbossa watching him eat, and offered the apple innocently. Gen choked on a laugh, and Barbossa turned his attention to her.

"And you, missy," he said, standing up and moving behind her. "If this be the plan, what's the reasoning behind not sending you to Davy Jones' locker?"

Genesis didn't look behind her to face him, instead staring straight at Jack. "Leverage." Jack's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at her.

"Leverage?" Barbossa murmured.

"In case Captain Sparrow's plan changes," she continued, eyeing Jack, "you'll need me to lure Turner in. You've already lost his little turtledove through your own single-mindedness, so I'm the only option you have, other than simply searching the globe, asking every young man you meet if his last name is 'Turner.'"

Jack nodded. "The woman has a point."

"I thought you two were in this together," Barbossa said warily. Genesis looked away from Jack.

"Miss Morgan and I have our own agendas," Jack continued for her.

"Morgan, is it?" Barbossa said. "And what agenda does 'Miss Morgan' have?"

"There was a young woman with Elizabeth Swann," Genesis said, finally turning to look Barbossa in the eye. "Around my age, red hair. Is she on this ship?"

The curl of Barbossa's lip told her the answer. "Perhaps."

"If you want Turner," Genesis said slowly, "you'll give that woman to me, and I will personally bring him to you."

Barbossa nodded, stroking his beard in thought, mulling over the proposal. "What say I keep the maid, safe and sound, exactly where she is, and you'll bring Turner to me. Then you'll get her." He saw Gen open her mouth to protest, but raised a hand, placing his finger over her lips. "Leverage."

Gen slapped his hand away angrily, wiping her lips off with her remaining shirt sleeve. Barbossa chuckled heartily as Bo'sun opened the door, stepping into the room. "Captain, we're coming up on the _Interceptor_."

Jack and Genesis exchanged a glance as Barbossa smiled and stepped out of the cabin. Jack jumped up, running out and stepping in front Barbossa as he looked through the spyglass. Gen followed, stepping up alongside Barbossa to see the beautiful white-sailed ship they had commandeered losing ground to the great black hulk that was the _Pearl_.

"I'm having a thought here, Barbossa," Jack said. Barbossa rolled his eyes. "What say we run up a flag of truce? I scurry over to the _Interceptor_, and I negotiate the return of your medallion, eh? What say you to that?"

"I say that idea sucks, as that leaves us with the problem of you crawling to freedom, and myself and Rosalyn being stuck on a ship of undead pirates," Gen said with a scowl.

Barbossa nodded. "Now, you see, Jack," he said in a smooth tone. "The lass is right, and that's exactly the attitude that lost you the _Pearl_. People are easy to search when they're dead."

He turned to Bo'sun. "Lock 'em in the brig. Separately. They're too dangerous together, I feel."

Barbossa turned and moved to another door, opening it wide for Jack and Gen to see. Gen's eyes widened as a familiar head of red hair appeared. "Roz!"

Rosalyn looked up, seeing Jack and Genesis both standing on the deck, being held by Bo'sun. "Gen?" she whispered. She saw her friend begin to struggle against the large man. "Gen!"

Barbossa slammed the door as Roz rose from the bed to run out, locking it behind him with a rusty key. Gen struggled for a moment, then crumpled when she realized it was pointless.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

**Chapter 14: In Which Jack and Gen Have Some Déja Vu**

Bo'sun easily dragged Jack and Genesis down to the lower deck of the ship, throwing them in cells across from one another before growling and grumbling something about women and Jacks before mounting the stairs.

"Apparently there's a leak," Jack yelled to him, only to be answered by the slammed door. He frowned, then moved to look out the window. Gen paced through the ankle-deep water for a moment, then unleashed her frustrations on the cell door, pushing and punching and scratching with a stream of curse words and feral screams. Jack turned to watch, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm sure Barbossa's mother isn't that bad," he quipped. She stopped her tantrum, cheeks flushed in her anger, and stumbled back from the cell door until her back hit the wall. She slumped, head hanging down, her wavy hair covering her face. Jack sighed, leaning forward against the cell door, arms looped through the bars. "So, that was Rosalyn, I take it?"

"Yeah," Gen said in a tired voice. "That's Roz."

"She looked attractive."

"I'll be sure to tell her you said that when Barbossa's making us walk the plank." Gen looked back up, then smiled a little. "Remember that soldier I held hostage back at Port Royal?"

"Aye."

"That was Roz."

Jack grinned. "Impersonating a naval officer?" he said, amused. "Sounds like my kind of girl."

"Save it," Gen said, pushing her hair back out of her face. "You're not her type. She's likes them tall, kinda dirty…huh."

"What?"

"I wonder why she doesn't like you."

"I'm not dirty."

"Yeah, neither is topsoil."

Jack's mouth opened to retort, but he threw his hands up in defeat, returning to the window. A thud sounded from somewhere, followed by a strange whistle Genesis had heard elsewhere before.

"Jack! Down!"

He followed orders and hit the water as a projectile flew threw the wall and his cell door. He got to his feet, arms waving madly. "Stop blowing holes in my ship!" He turned around, looking at the damage to the cell. Whatever was blown threw the ship (it wasn't quite round enough to be a cannon ball) had also blown the lock right off his cell, and he swung the door open tentatively. He grinned as he stepped through.

"Jack."

He looked into Gen's cell, and her face was blank as she stared at her lock, which was still intact. She looked up at him, aqua eyes wide. There was that innocent little girl look again. He growled in frustration, looking around helplessly. Barbossa held the keys, he was sure of it. He grabbed the door, shaking it harshly before finally giving up and looking back up at her. He scowled.

"Just come back, if you can," she said softly. "I know, the code and all. But if you can…"

His face was devoid of expression for a moment, sizing up the young woman before him. Locked in a cell, accepting her fate, simply requesting that, if he could, he would save her. She wasn't pleading, wasn't begging. Simply requesting. He glanced at her hands; she was holding the bars of the cell so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She was terrified, but she wasn't pleading. He frowned, laying a hand over hers. She nodded, knowing he'd never promise it, but knowing he may try.

"Go," she said. "You've got some swashbuckling to do."

----------

Rosalyn slammed her fists against the door of the room, yanking roughly at the doorknob between blows. It suddenly opened, and she stumbled back, tripping over her skirts and ending up on her read end, staring up at Barbossa. She scrambled to her feet as he shut the door behind him.

"Temper, temper, Miss O'Brien," he said in silky tones. He glanced at the door he had come from. "It seems that you are acquainted with our latest guest...Miss Morgan, was it?"

"No," Roz replied, glaring. "I just like screaming 'Gen!' at high tension moments."

"She seems to know you," Barbossa went on, ignoring her sarcasm. "She seems awfully determined to save your pale hide. Nigh desperate, I'd say."

"I'm not -" she paused, glancing at the skin on her arms which was, indeed, quite pale, in defeat. She looked up at him curiously. "How desperate?" _Please, tell me she hasn't done anything stupid_.

"She and her Jack Sparrow are locked in the brig," Barbossa explained. "After she helps me to lure in her brother, she and Jack will be rewarded with a lovely holiday complete with their own private island." He chuckled at his own wit, while Roz looked away, even as her mind questioned that 'brother' bit.

"You're going to maroon them."

"Nothing slips by you, Miss O'Brien." He smiled coldly and slipped back out of the room to the sounds of cannon fire. Roz tried to pull the door open again to find it locked. She moved away from it, finally slumping to the floor as the air began to fill with smoke and the sounds of battle.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

**Chapter 15: In Which The Girls Are Separated Again**

Genesis was currently a ball of trembling fetal position in the brig of the _Pearl_. The sounds of the battle echoed all around her, and once in a while a random artifact from the _Interceptor_ flew into the brig, a silver mug nearly decapitating her at one point. She had discovered that the back left corner of the cell was safest, and there she sat, huddled, despite the fact that she was sitting in almost a foot of water.

She was so concentrated on her absolute terror that she failed to notice that the sounds of the struggle had died down. The door to the brig suddenly flew open, and the massive hulk that was Bo'sun strode in, moving to her cell with the key in his hand.

"Captain requests your presence on deck," he said with an malevolent sneer. He unlocked the door, and Gen stood up, water dripping from her shorts, boots very squishy and uncomfortable. He didn't manhandle her this time, but simply followed her out the door and up the steps.

Gen stood frozen once she reached the top of the steps. The entire crew of the _Interceptor_ was tied to the mast, Jack being held by some of the cursed crew. She looked to the water. The _Interceptor_ was, alarmingly, nowhere to be seen. She glanced back to Jack, but spotted a redhead.

"Roz!" she said, moving to run to her friend, but Bo'sun grabbed her, holding her back. Which earned him what Jack later termed the "Morgan Treatment" that involved his family line, his manhood, and something in French and possibly Japanese. She was silenced by a massive hand over her mouth.

Elizabeth was currently tugging at Barbossa. "You've got to stop it! Stop it!"

"Welcome back, miss," Barbossa said with a sneer. "You took advantage of our hospitality last time. It holds fair now that you return the favor." He pushed her into the throng of men behind her, who wasted no time in groping the beautiful young woman now in their grasp. Rosalyn struggled against the pirate holding her, trying to get to Elizabeth and pull her free, but whoever was holding her kept his grip tight.

"Barbossa!"

Everyone's attention turned to a nearby railing, where a very wet Will Turner stood, pointing Jack's pistol at Barbossa.

"What's in your head, boy?" Barbossa asked warily.

"She goes free!" Will shouted. Jack and Gen caught each other's looks, both rolling their eyes at Will's blindly led heroism. Bo'sun had apparently decided that Gen had been effectively silenced, and released her face.

"You've only got one shot, and we can't die," Barbossa said.

"Don't do anything stupid," Jack muttered.

"You can't," Will said dramatically. He moved the pistol to his temple. "But I can."

"Like that, for instance," Gen said, exasperated. Barbossa narrowed his eyes at Will.

"Who are you?"

Jack broke free from his captors, moving to Barbossa's side. "No one," he said. "He's no one. A distant cousin of my aunt's nephew, twice removed. Lovely singing voice though." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Eunuch."

"My name is Will Turner," Will proclaimed. "My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner. His blood runs through my veins."

"Oh. My. God," Gen growled. "Will you just shut the hell up?"

"On my word," Will said, apparently not hearing her. "Do as I say, or I'll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones' locker."

"Name your terms, Mr. Turner," Barbossa said suspiciously.

"Elizabeth goes free."

"Yes, we know that one. Anything else?"

Jack was pointing at himself, while Gen attempted to wave his attention her way.

"And the crew," Will said. "The crew are not to be harmed."

Barbossa smiled, then glanced at Genesis. "And your sister? Are you not concerned for her?"

Will was the picture of confusion. "I have no sister."

Barbossa looked back to Gen, who gave him a sweet, hopeful smile. He smirked. "Don't you, now?" He looked to Will, nodding. "Agreed."

----------

"Couldn't just play along, could you, William? I mean, does it pain you that much to pretend I'm your sister?"

"Yes."

Will, being the heroic genius that he was, had failed to be specific. From his spot in the grasp of two pirates, he growled at Barbossa. "Barbossa, you lying bastard! You swore she'd go free!"

"Don't dare impugn me honor, boy," Barbossa sneered. "I agreed she'd go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where." He nodded at one of his men, who quickly bound and gagged Will. Barbossa glanced out to Elizabeth, who stood at the end of the plank, deep burgundy skirts blowing in the breeze. "Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don't it, lads?"

The deck echoed with numerous "ayes" and snickers from the pirates.

"So I'll be having that dress back before you go," Barbossa said with a gut-turning grin. Elizabeth's glare could have frozen molten lava. Jack, who was being held near Genesis, looked over his shoulder at one of his former crewmen.

"I always liked you," he said hopefully. Gen followed his lead, looking back at the man holding onto her.

"You know, with some soap, a sponge, and a paint scraper, you'd be a pretty good-looking guy."

She was rewarded with the heel of his hand to the back of her head.

"Fine, you're ugly."

Elizabeth had succeeded in removing the dress, to the hoots and cheers of the crew, and threw it forcefully at Barbossa. "It goes with your black heart."

Barbossa grinned, holding the fine fabric to his face and inhaling. "Ooh, it's still warm." He threw it to a crewman, turning back to Elizabeth. "Go on, Miss Swann, you're holding up the line, and I'm sure Jack's itching to make this little trip again."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "You can't leave me alone on that island with him!"

"Of course not," Barbossa said, as if suddenly realizing his folly. "Can't be a noblewoman without your maid." Without warning, he wrenched Rosalyn from her captor.

"Let go of me, you son of aaaAAAAH!"

Genesis once again tried to tear herself away from the pirates as Barbossa pushed Rosalyn over the railing of the ship. She and Elizabeth simultaneously yelled her name, listening with sickened looks on their faces at the sound of the splash far below.

"Too long!" Bo'sun yelled suddenly, stomping on the plank that Elizabeth was perched on. Elizabeth faltered, losing her balance and falling to the water below. Genesis managed to twist out of the pirate's grasp, running to the railing, but was grabbed by Barbossa before she could dive overboard.

"Where do you think you're going, Miss Morgan?" he asked calmly, even as the woman in his grasp writhed and clawed at him.

"You have to let me go," she said, trying to pull away. "You have what you want. Let me go!"

"Aye, I have Turner," he said in a low voice. He cast a look at Jack, making sure his former captain could hear. "But you see, Miss Morgan, it's been so long since I've been satisfied, by food or otherwise, and I would love to have you here to remind me as soon as possible what that feels like."

Gen's eyes widened, and Jack tried to surge forward, held back now by three men, as Barbossa pushed Genesis back into Bo'sun's arms. "Take her back to the brig. We'll save her for later."

Jack watched helplessly as his companion, normally so cool-headed and sarcastic, was dragged, kicking and screaming like a hellcat, back down to the brig.

"Jack."

He could still hear her screaming.

"Jack."

His attention was suddenly on Barbossa, who had stepped in front of him and was guiding him to the plank.

"I'd really rather hoped we were past all this," Jack said, his tone darker than the cynical comment implied.

"Did you not notice?" Barbossa asked, guiding Jack's line of sight to the island nearby. "That be the same little island that we made you governor of on our last little trip."

Jack swung his head to look with a grimace. "I did notice."

"Perhaps you'll be able to conjure up another miraculous escape," Barbossa said. "But I doubt it." He pulled out his sword, pointing it at Jack's throat. "Off you go."

Jack glanced at the door Bo'sun and Genesis had disappeared through, then looked back at Barbossa. "Last time, you left me a pistol with one shot."

"By the powers, you're right," Barbossa said, sheathing his sword. "Where be Jack's pistol? Bring it forward."

"Seeing as there are three of us, a gentlemen would give us three pistols," Jack said hopefully.

"It'll be one pistol, as before," Barbossa said sternly. "And you can be the gentleman and shoot the lady, drown the Irish wench, and starve to death yourself."

With that, he threw the pistol overboard. Jack followed. Even as he hit the water, he could swear he heard the screaming.


	16. Chapter 16

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__ Aww, the girls are separated again! So soon? Say it ain't so! Well, I suppose we'll have to wait for yet _another_ reunion. And, for all of those more aural readers out there, the song that Rosalyn irritates Jack and Elizabeth with in this chapter is called "Captain Jack" by…Captain Jack. Most people know it from Dance Dance Revolution. Give it a listen; you'll see why it drives Jack and Liz utterly insane, especially when sung by a somewhat tone deaf, hyperactive redhead._

**Chapter 16: In Which Roz Bonds With Captain Morgan…And Hates Him Later**

Roz broke through the water's surface for a split second, gasping for air, before the soaked cotton skirts of that _damn ugly dress_ began to weigh her down, dragging her back underwater. She kicked as hard as she could, arms clawing at the light above her, to no avail. She grunted, reaching back and grasping either side of the bodice, she wrenched the fabric apart, sending buttons flying before they stilled and began their slow descent downward. After ripping away at a few more buttons, she managed to slip her arms out of the sleeves, and pushed the dress down and over her hips, wriggling free of the petticoats in the process. Her lungs ached as she sped to the surface. She broke through, gulping down the salty air before looking around for her bearings. Jack and Elizabeth were already ahead of her, swimming toward the island, so she kicked off her soft blue slippers and swam after them.

When she was able to touch the bottom, Jack was already slipping his hands free of his loosened bindings, staring at the retreating ship with an empty look that made Rosalyn's heart twist slightly with pity. "That's the second time I've had to watch that man sail away with my ship."

He paused, one dark eyebrow shooting up into his bandana, following Roz with his eyes as she crawled through the calf-deep water in nothing but her bloomers and corset. Once she reached the dry sand, she flopped down with a burst of exhaled breath, remained still for a moment, then reeled upward suddenly, her entire wet face now coated with a layer of pristine white sand.

"You must be Rosalyn," Jack said flatly as she sputtered, trying to wipe away the offending sand.

Roz glared at him, eyeing him up and down. "And this must be hell." Her face turned to a look of amazement. "We just swam a quarter mile through the ocean, and you're still dirty. How do you do it?"

"Rosalyn, all right," he muttered. "I see you two share that infinite blade-sharp wit."

Elizabeth looked confused as she busied herself with wringing out her long hair. "'You two?'"

"Our lovely little redhead here and the notorious Genesis Morgan," Jack replied emphatically. Elizabeth's eyes widened as she looked at Rosalyn.

"You're in league with that…that…pirate?"

Jack pulled a face, glancing at Elizabeth with a mildly offended look.

"No," Roz said thoughtfully. "It's more like, she gets herself ass-deep in trouble, and drags me down with her for moral support and comedic sidekickery."

Elizabeth, ever the lady, gasped at Rosalyn's cursing, while Jack merely shrugged. "Sounds enough like her."

Roz crawled down to the water's edge, splashing her face with water to rinse off the sand as Jack sat down to dry out his pistol. Elizabeth frowned and took off, apparently off for a bit of sightseeing, and Roz simply stared off into the horizon in uncharacteristic silence.

It didn't take long for Elizabeth to return, a somewhat dejected look on her face as she stared off at her own footprints trailing off before her.

"It's really not all that big, is it?" Jack said, eyeing his nearly-dry pistol.

"Nope," Roz said, looking at a rather obscene direction on his anatomy. She looked up suddenly, glancing at his face, then Elizabeth, then the footprints. "_Oh_, you mean the _island._"

Jack gaped at her, clearly insulted, while Elizabeth looked at him with a somewhat irritated look. "If you're going to shoot me, please do so without delay," she said matter-of-factly.

"You think that you'd be the first person I'd off on this bloody island?" he said, jerking his head toward Roz. He then considered Elizabeth for a moment, then leaned forward casually, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Is there a problem between us, Miss Swann?"

"You were going to tell Barbossa about Will in exchange for a ship," Elizabeth snarled.

"We could use a ship!" Jack pointed out.

"More than we could use a Will, really," Roz added.

"Fact is," Jack said. "I was _not_ going to tell Barbossa about bloody Will in exchange for a ship, because as long as he didn't know about bloody Will, I had something to bargain with. Which now, no one has, thanks to bloody stupid Will." He stood up angrily, clearly (and rightfully) frustrated by the entire thing.

Elizabeth looked down, able to say only one thing:

"Oh."

"Oh," Jack repeated bitterly.

Elizabeth looked up, indignant. "He still risked his life to save ours."

Jack's eyes widened, and he barked out a rather uncaring, disbelieving laugh and began to stumble off through the hot sand. Elizabeth gave chase.

"Well, we have to do something to rescue him!"

Jack stopped and waved her away. "Of you go, then, let me know how that turns out," he said, and began walking toward the center of the island. Elizabeth began to follow him, so Roz jumped up as well, following Jack as he began counting paces. A song popped into her head, which she began to sing.

_"Running to the railroad track, run along with Captain Jack…"_

"You were marooned on this island before, weren't you?," Elizabeth said, both of them throwing a strange look Rosalyn's way. "So we can escape in the same way you did then."

"To what point and purpose, young missy?" Jack asked, suddenly spinning on his heel. Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, causing Roz to stumble into her back. "The _Black Pearl_ is gone, and unless you have a rudder and a lot of sails hidden in that bodice…unlikely…young Mister Turner will be dead long before you can reach him."

"Wow," Roz said. "Cheery. So, Jack, where's the rum?"

"It's Captain Spa--" He paused. "How'd you know about the rum?"

Roz gave Elizabeth a "please, explain," look.

"Oh," Elizabeth said flippantly. "Rosalyn is psychic."

Jack looked at Roz, who made a Mentok the Mindtaker hand gesture and a quiet "byoooo-EEEEEE-oooo."

"Psychic," he said. It was more a statement of disbelief than a question.

"Keep your eye on the rum," Roz said cryptically. Jack scowled, and she mock-bowed, extending an arm as an invitation for him to proceed.

"But you're Captain Jack Sparrow," Elizabeth began to protest as Jack moved on, clearly taking back up the argument Rosalyn's apparent alcoholism had interrupted. "You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Company…"

Roz had started up her song again.

"_Give me a bottle in my hand…"_

"You sacked Nassau Port without even firing a single shot…"

_"…I wanna be a drunken man…"_

Jack glared at them both as he put his ear to a tree trunk, rapping his knuckles against it. He turned, glancing at the sun's position, and began taking very large, exaggerated steps away from the tree. Elizabeth and Rosalyn followed.

"Are you the pirate I've read about or not? How --"

"_Gooooooo left, go right, go pick up the step, go left, go right, go --"_

"Would you just bloody shut up?!" Elizabeth yelled, whirling on Rosalyn, who nearly fell backward.

"Thank you," Jack breathed. He stopped walking, jumping up and down a few times. It was clear that it wasn't merely sand below his feet.

"As I was saying," Elizabeth said irritably. "How did you escape last time?"

"Last time," Jack said with a huff, clearly annoyed by the line of questioning, "I was here a grand total of three days, all right?"

"Last time," he opened a hidden cellar door, "the rumrunners used this island as a cache." He jumped down, disappearing into the cellar. "Came by, and I was able to barter a passage off."

Two hands appeared, holding three differently shaped bottles of amber-colored rum. Rosalyn reached down and grabbed two, sticking an arm out to him. He grabbed her wrist as she helped him out of the cellar.

"From the looks of things," he continued, glancing back at the cellar, "they've long been out of business. Probably have your bloody friend Norrington to thank for that."

"So that's it, then?" Elizabeth said in shock. "That's the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow? You spent three days lying on a beach, drinking rum?"

"Doesn't sound so bad to me," Roz said with a smirk. Jack grinned at her, glad to have someone on his wavelength, and he glanced at Elizabeth.

"Welcome to the Caribbean, love."

Roz grinned, raising her bottle to clink against his. "To 'secret grand adventures,'" she said, mimicking Elizabeth's noble accent.

Jack grinned, raising his voice girlishly to mock Elizabeth as well. "To 'lying on a beach, drinking rum.'" They clinked the bottles, uncorking them and taking a big swig. Roz choked at the strength of it, wheezing as her eyes watered. Jack merely laughed, offering his arm, which she took after she stopped her coughing fit, and they made their way toward the beach, Roz starting her song once again. Elizabeth sighed and followed, slipping around Jack once they reached the beach and making him come to a halt.

"So, is there any truth to the other stories?"

Jack froze, eyes dark. "Truth?"

He raised his right shirtsleeve, revealing the P-shaped brand, then his left, showing a series of mangled scars that stretched from his wrist to his bicep. He then pulled the collar of his shirt away, revealing two bullet wounds in his chest. Rosalyn and Elizabeth both gaped, while his eyes narrowed. "No truth at all."

He sat down in the sand, and Rosalyn was quick to follow. He looked out over the water. "We've still got about a month, maybe more," he said somewhat grimly. "Keep a weather eye open for passing ships and our chances are fair."

"And what about Will?" Elizabeth asked. "We have to do something."

Jack looked thoughtful. "You're absolutely right," he said, and dropped one of his bottles onto the sand, letting it roll to a stop at Elizabeth's feet. He raised his bottle to the sea. "Here's luck to you, Will Turner." Roz followed his lead, once again going into a bit of a wheezing fit, though this one was considerably less violent.

"Good stuff," she hissed, wiping her eyes.

Elizabeth, clearly being defeated in this argument, uncorked her bottle and plopped down on the other side of Jack. She looked at her bottle, muttering "drink up, me hearties, yo ho," before taking a swig with a grimace.

Jack frowned, and glanced at her curiously. "What was that, Elizabeth?"

"Clearly, the ramblings of a drunken madwoman," Roz offered.

"It's 'Miss Swann,'" she said irritatedly. Jack held his hands up in supplication, clearly not expecting an answer to his question. He was a bit surprised, clearly, when she went on.

"Nothing," she said a bit sadly. "It's a song I learned as a child when I actually thought it would be exciting to meet a pirate."

Jack shrugged. "Let's hear it."

"No."

"Come on," Jack retorted. "We've got the time. Let's have it."

"No!" Elizabeth said again. She paused. "I'd have to have a lot more to drink."

Jack watched her hands play with the neck of a bottle, and it seemed inspiration struck. "How much more?"

There was a moment of silence, and Rosalyn suddenly stood. "Off to the rum room. This year, Caribbean Idol is being sponsored by Bacardi."

----------

"We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs, drink up, me 'earties, yo ho! Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me!"

It had started with innocent humming on Elizabeth's part. Rosalyn had picked up on the tune, and the result was a drunken, three-person choir, each voice horribly off-key, dancing (or, rather, stumbling) around a roaring bonfire.

"I love this song!" Jack said happily, swinging his arm out and slopping yet more rum onto the sand. He grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be Roz, and spun her around. "Really bad eggs! Ooh!"

He lost his footing, and Roz went down with him, resulting in a giggling pile of flailing limbs and more sloshed rum. They managed to untangle themselves for the most part, but Rosalyn's legs were still draped over his. Elizabeth plopped down next to him, and her legs became Roz's footrest.

"When I get the _Pearl_ back," Jack said thoughtfully, "I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!"

"And you'll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main," Elizabeth breathed.

"Not just the Spanish Main, love," Jack said dramatically. "The entire ocean."

"The entire world," Roz corrected.

Jack patted her knee in a friendly manner. "You're not so bad, Miss Rosalyn," he said. "I might bring you along, when we get my _Pearl_." He looked out onto the ocean. "Wherever we want to go, we'll go. That's what a ship is, you know. It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails. That's what a ship needs, but what a ship is…what the _Black Pearl_ really is…is freedom."

Roz tilted her head as she listened to him. A smile tugged at her lips; Jack got all philosophical when he was drunk. She had the feeling it wasn't a side of Captain Jack Sparrow that was seen very often, and she felt strangely privileged.

She glanced at Elizabeth. The noblewoman looked bored, but snapped to attention with a look of wonder whenever Jack looked her way. Roz caught her eyes, and it was clear by the look on Elizabeth's face that she knew that the "psychic" was aware of her plan. Elizabeth sighed, leaning her pretty blonde head on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack," she said pitifully. "It must be really terrible for you to be trapped on this island."

Her act worked, as Jack wasn't the type of man to reject a woman's attentions. "Oh, yes," he said, clearing his throat and tentatively wrapped an arm about her slim shoulders. "But the company is infinitely better than last time." He glanced at Roz and slyly rested a hand slightly above her knee. "And the scenery has definitely improved."

"Mister Sparrow!" Elizabeth exclaimed, pushing him away. "I'm not entirely sure that I've had enough rum to allow that kind of talk."

Jack glanced at Roz, who held up her nearly-empty bottle. "Yeah," she said. "I probably have."

Jack nodded sagely, curling up the ends of his mustache. "I know exactly what you mean, loves."

Elizabeth, clearly uncomfortable with the situation, jerked her bottle into the air in a toast-like fashion. "To freedom."

Jack eyes her bottle and decided to rein in his seduction tactics. He raised his bottle. "To the Black Pearl."

Rosalyn raised her bottle as well. "To pirates."

"Aye," Jack said before bringing the bottle to his lips to drain it. Rosalyn and Elizabeth did as well, but Elizabeth lowered hers without drinking, watching Jack as he leaned back and promptly passed out. Elizabeth looked at Roz.

"You aren't going to try and stop me?"

"No point in it."

"Why not?"

"Well," Roz said. "For one, your little bonfire works in the long run."

"And secondly?"

"And secondly," Roz said, stumbling over the latter word slightly. "I'm drunk off my lily-white ass and could hardly walk a straight line, let alone stop you and your pyromania."

Elizabeth smiled a little. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I am going to sleep," Roz said, laying back in the sand. "Because I am sure to feel like hell in the morning, and I don't want to be awake for the rum-burning. I can't handle seeing all that alcohol go to waste. It's depressing."

----------

Jack awoke the next morning to the bright Caribbean sun and the telltale smell of alcohol burning.

You, dear readers, can guess which factor made his eyes snap open.

He sat up, moving much faster than usual, and spun to see half of the island in flames. Elizabeth was bustling about the inferno, throwing in more barrels and ducking down to avoid the debris from the resulting explosions.

"No!" he said, his voice cracking due to his abrupt wake-up call. "Not good!" He stood up shakily, moving to run to Elizabeth, but was thwarted by a log, which grunted as he fell over it. The log, otherwise known as Rosalyn, seemed to recoil from the bright sunlight with an inhuman screech, reaching for the nearest object (in this case, Jack's hat, which had tipped off his head when he leapt to his feet) and slamming it over her head. Not, however, before one hand shot out, punching wildly at Jack.

"Off, banshee!" he yelled, kicking at her flailing arm and scrambling to his feet.

"Stop!" he yelled at Elizabeth. "Not good!"

"Stop yelling!" came a hiss from under his hat.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed upon reaching Elizabeth.

"She's not yelling, that's what!" snapped the hat before it moaned and wrapped its arms around its head. Jack ignored it.

"You burned all the food!" he said in shock. "The shade! The rum!"

"Yes," Elizabeth said triumphantly. "The rum is gone."

"Why is the rum gone?"

"One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into scoundrels," she said sternly. "Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out looking for me, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won't see it?"

Silence.

"But why's the rum gone?"

Roz bolted upward. "Because she blew it all the bloody hell up!" she yelled. Her face suddenly paled, and she made a mad dash for the water's edge and emptied her stomach of last night's festivities.

Elizabeth sighed and plopped down in the sand, eyes on the ocean. "Just wait, Captain Sparrow," she said, jaw out stubbornly. "You give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on that horizon."

Jack's temper flared for a moment and he fumbled with his pistol, aiming it at the back of Elizabeth's head. There was a sudden cry of _"NOOOOO!" _and a flash of red hair and white bloomers flying in front of Jack, completely missing the pistol the heroic leap was clearly intended for and ending up laying facedown in the sand at Jack's feet. Jack and Elizabeth turned to look at Roz, who simply muttered:

"Bastard."

Jack rolled his eyes, shoving the gun into his belt and beginning to storm off.

"Jack, wait!"

He turned to see Roz still facedown in the sand, but her head was slightly lifted. "Yes?"

"If you're going out, can you get me something at McDonald's?"

Jack, having no idea who McDonald was and being sure that whoever he was, he probably was not to be found on this island, turned on his heel and stormed off, curses streaming from his lips. Every once in a while his pitch would raise, a clear hint that his rant included imitations of one, if not both, of the women.

_"Steak, egg and cheese bagel!"_ Rosalyn yelled after him. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Elizabeth holding a rum bottle filled with water and what looked like a scrap of fabric from her shift. She doused the scrap and pulled Rosalyn into a sitting position, blotting the cool rag on Roz's forehead.

"What are you doing?"

Elizabeth smiled. "My father likes his brandy," she said warmly. "I'm well accustomed to the 'morning after effect.'" She handed the bottle of water to Roz.

"Drink," she said sternly. "The alcohol and sun are going to dry you out like sand."

Rosalyn took a small sip, the cool water easing its way down her sandpaper throat. They sat together in silence for a moment, watching Jack's arms swing wildly in his tantrum. They saw him suddenly stop at the top of a hill, his shoulders dropping in defeat.

"What do you think that's all about?" Elizabeth asked.

Roz smiled. "Hello, _Dauntless_."

They both stood, trying to catch a glimpse of white sails. Jack had made his way back, muttering under his breath. Roz only caught a bit.

"Bloody women and their bloody Norrington's."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__ Let's just say…Genesis and Barbossa have a rather strained relationship, and leave it at that, shall we? By the way, as a die-hard Norrington fangirl, I truly hated writing this chapter. My LizMuse is lucky that I love her, else I'd have written her ass straight into the water strapped to a concrete block._

**Chapter 17: In Which Gen Prepares For the Terrors of Barbossa's Loins**

Governor Weatherby Swann was overjoyed at the rescue of his only daughter, coddling her and draping his coat over her. Norrington was also distracted by his object of affection, until Jack, who was being watched over by the ever-suitable Murtogg and Mullroy, cleared his throat, throwing glances at Rosalyn with an "it seems there's another damsel on board, mate."

So Elizabeth and Rosalyn, wearing the Governor and Norrington's coats, respectively, were frantically trying to persuade the aforementioned men to pursue the _Black Pearl_.

"But we've got to save Will!" Elizabeth cried.

"No," Governor Swann said firmly. "You're safe now. We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates!"

"Then we condemn him to death," Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"A horrible, torturous death," Rosalyn added helpfully. "The guilt of which will weigh forever on your very souls!"

Governor Swann looked at Rosalyn uncomfortably. "The boy's fate is regrettable," he said slowly. "But then, so was his decision to engage in piracy."

"To rescue me," Elizabeth exclaimed. "To prevent anything from happening to me!"

"Not to mention he's far less boring now," Roz piped up.

"If I may so bold as to inject my professional opinion," Jack spoke up, slipping from the soldiers' grasp and gently pushing Rosalyn to the side and stepping conspiratorially toward Norrington. "The _Pearl_ was listing near scuppers after the battle."

"What are scuppers, and why are they enlisting?" Rosalyn whispered to Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes.

"It's very unlikely she'll be able to make good time," Jack continued. He gave Norrington a sly smile. "Think about it. The _Black Pearl_. The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate. How can you pass that up?"

"By remembering that I serve others, Mister Sparrow, not only myself," the commodore replied. Roz frowned, then brightened suddenly.

"They have a hostage!"

Commodore Norrington raised an eyebrow, eyes falling to her. "Indeed?"

"A woman," she continued. "Barbossa is keeping her for…well…you can guess what he plans to use her for."

Norrington's face was center stage for a conflict of emotions, as if he wished for nothing more than to return to Port Royal, but couldn't find it in his gentleman's heart to leave a lady in the clutches of a deranged pirate. Of course, Elizabeth had to ruin it.

"You don't mean Genesis Morgan, do you?"

Norrington's face returned to its normal, stony expression. Rosalyn glared at Elizabeth, then cast a pleading look to Norrington.

"Please, we have to go after them!"

"You almost had me convinced, Miss O'Brien," he said. "A life of piracy will always end in just punishment."

Rosalyn's face paled, and Elizabeth strode forward.

"Commodore, I beg you, please do this," she said, almost reaching out to tug at his shirt sleeve. "For me."

She paused.

"As a wedding gift."

Norrington's jaw dropped slightly, his gaze holding Elizabeth's.

"Elizabeth," Governor Swann breathed excitedly. "Are you accepting the commodore's proposal?"

"I am."

It wasn't the acceptance of a girl in love. It was a negotiation. Rosalyn saw Norrington's face broadcast his emotions once again, and it almost made her want to hug the man. He had to know Elizabeth didn't love him, that she was trying to save Will. And yet he was still holding out hope.

"A wedding!" Jack cried out. "I love weddings! Drinks all around!"

Roz turned to see him flailing his arms happily and couldn't help but join in. She loved weddings as well, you see.

"It can be on the beach!" she said. "And…you can be _barefoot_." She pointed to Elizabeth's feet.

"And there can be rum!" Jack chirped He froze at Norrington's stern look.

"I know," he said, extending his arms. "Clap 'im in irons, right?"

"Mr. Sparrow," Norrington said. "You will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearings to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave.' Do I make myself clear?"

Jack winced as Murtogg and Mullroy laid hands on him. "Inescapably."

As Jack was led away, Swann turned to Norrington. "Commodore, I must question the wisdom of this--"

"With all due respect, Governor," Norrington interrupted. "Mister Turner is a subject of the British crown, and therefore, under my protection."

Rosalyn and Elizabeth stood behind the men, both looking apprehensive. Roz could just tell by the look on Norrington's face that his words were clearly not the reason he was willing to help Will. And she could tell by the look on Elizabeth's face that the woman was feeling a bit badly about it; she was pale and looked about to throw up.

Clearly, Governor Swann had the same line of thought that Rosalyn had, regarding the young commodore. "Rightly so," he said, however, giving the younger man a small smile. He glanced at Elizabeth, then back at his now-future son-in-law. "Take care of her."

Norrington gave a short, understanding, tight smile, and Swann was gone. Norrington glanced over at the two women, catching Rosalyn's eye for a moment before turning his attention onto the pretty blonde next to her.

"Elizabeth?" he said, offering his arm. Elizabeth gave Rosalyn a look that seemed to say 'don't hate me.' Rosalyn's lips tightened a bit, but she nodded and stepped away, giving the newly betrothed couple some privacy. This could _only_ end badly…

----------

The layout of the _Black Pearl's_ brig was a rather odd thing to look at. One larger cell held almost the entirety of Jack's crew. Will and Genesis, however, each "earned" cells of their own. The _Pearl's_ accursed crew loved having Genesis and Anamaria on board, though Anamaria fared much better, since she was able to stand in the middle of her own crew and avoid stares and prodding. Genesis was left to their mercy.

For a while.

It didn't take long for the undead pirates to realize this wasn't some helpless little tart they could take advantage of. She was unarmed, but those long legs of her could do some damage. Not to mention the riot the rest of her companions made when one attempted to get a good feel of her. The cell bars would rattle so loud they were afraid the ship would crumble, so Genesis was, for the most part, left alone.

Currently, Pintel and Ragetti were swabbing the floor. Genesis sat on an upturned bucket in her cell, as far from any wall as possible. Jack's crew were forced to stand like sardines, while Will leaned against the cell door, arms hanging out casually.

"Brawk, wind in your sails."

Gen glanced up at the colorful parrot on Cotton's shoulder.

"Cotton 'ere says you missed a bit," Gibbs quipped. Gen snorted back a laugh as Pintel swung the mop his way, splashing the crew with dirty water.

Will piped up. "You knew William Turner?"

Pintel looked up at the handsome young man and sneered. "Ol' Bootstrap Bill?" We knew him. Never sat well with Bootstrap what we did to Jack Sparrow, the mutiny and all. He said it wasn't right with the Code."

"Really?" Gen said coldly. "That's funny, because it's not right with human bloody decency, either."

"Quiet, you!" Ragetti said, splashing her with water from his mop. She stood and charged a bit, causing him to nearly fall backwards, sending the crew into a fit of laughter.

"That's why he sent of a piece of the treasure to you, as it were," Pintel said to Will. "He said we deserved to be cursed and remain cursed."

"Stupid blighter," Ragetti mumbled.

"Good man," Gibbs corrected, earning him a glare from Pintel.

"Well, as you can imagine," he continued. "That didn't sit too well with the captain."

"That didn't sit too well with the captain, at all," Ragetti said with a giggle. "Tell him what Barbossa did."

"I'm telling the story!" Pintel roared. After calming himself, he continued. "So what the Captain did, he strapped a cannon to Bootstrap's bootstraps."

"Bootstraps bootstraps," came Ragetti's snickered echo. Genesis looked at Will's face, his dark eyes were wide, and she suddenly had no trouble picturing him as a little boy.

"The last we saw of ol' Bill Turner," Ragetti continued, "he was sinking to the crushing black oblivion of Davy Jones' Locker. 'Course, it was only after that we learned we needed his blood to lift the curse."

"That's what you call ironic," Ragetti said wistfully.

"That what you call kharma," Gen muttered.

The door to the brig swung open, and Genesis stood as Barbossa stepped in. He looked her over, then tossed a ring of keys to Ragetti. "It's time, Mister Turner," he said with a sneer. Ragetti went to work removing Will, and Barbossa turned to Genesis. His eyes burned into hers, but she refused to look away.

His eyes narrowed, and he pulled another key out of his pocket, slowly unlocking her cell door. She moved to run, but he caught her easily, laughing mockingly. His arm pinned hers down, and he made a vulgar show of their closeness to her fellow crewman, brushing the backs of his fingers over her curves and causing the other pirates to explode in angry yells and curses to his name. He merely laughed, dragging her kicking and screaming up the stairs.

Her eyes were squeezed shut in her efforts to escape, and she didn't realize he had dragged her into his cabin. He suddenly released her, and she instantly scrambled away from him. He blocked the exit, so she had no choice but to move deeper into his cabin, edging against the opposite wall, her back to it. Her actions showed her fear of him, and he chuckled. However, she stood straight as a rail, sea-colored eyes burrowing into his. He smirked at her, and moved to a chest near his large, ornate desk. Her eyes followed him, and he took a moment to take a good look at her. He expected her to shrink from his gaze, but she remained still, standing solidly, though she still looked like a fawn under a hunter's watchful aim. He opened the chest, bending at the waist and pulling out a mass of silk.

She inched away as he approached, though he only moved to lay out the fabric on the massive four-poster bed. It was an elaborate gown, lavender in color. She thought momentarily that it was a color she wore often when she wanted to bring out the green of her eyes. She looked back to him, to see him looking directly into her eyes, and she realized he had picked that color for a reason.

"What's that for?" she said suddenly, though she was sure she knew the answer.

"Well, Miss Morgan," he replied, contemplating her from across the bed. "While my crew is partial to your less-than-modest attire, I prefer a lady in my bed."

"Then I suggest you find one."

He chuckled again, shaking his head. "That's quite a tongue you have there, Miss Morgan," he commented. "No wonder Jack kept you around." He gave her a look that showed that his comment on her tongue did not merely refer to her witty repertoire.

At her lack of a retort, and the momentary fall of her stubborn expression, he took a deep breath, a small smile playing at his lips. "Aye, there's the weak bit," he said thoughtfully. "In love with Sparrow, are you?"

"No."

He raised an eyebrow, unsure of whether she was lying or not. "Then what is it then, Miss Morgan?" he asked. "What is it about Jack Sparrow that's got you so worked up?"

"He's my captain," she said, jaw set. "I'll be loyal to him 'til I die." She tilted her head, brown curls falling to one side. "But you wouldn't know about loyalty, would you, Barbossa?"

His amused look fell away to one of annoyance, and the smile that had graced his face was now on hers. He moved to the door in a huff, turning back to her before leaving.

"You will be wearing that dress when I return," he said menacingly. "Or I'll have the pleasure of putting it on you, _and_ taking it off."

He reached over to a nail pegged to the wall next to the door, grabbing the dagger that hung there. His face broke into another sinister smile.

"Now, to attend to your dear brother."

Her eyes widened, and she ran to the door, reaching it just in time to hear him lock it from the other side.

----------

Rosalyn was currently perched on a dresser, watching Elizabeth rant and rave around the room they were locked in. Ten minutes ago, they had been pushed in by naval officers under the Commodore's insistence, which had his new fiancée's blood burning.

"How _dare_ he!" Elizabeth fumed. "He can't just lock me away in his ship!"

"Actually, that very thing may just be in his job description," Roz replied. "He _is_ the Commodore."

"We've got to get out of here," Elizabeth said. She spotted the bed sheets, and the light bulb clicked on. Roz hopped down from the dresser, much more comfortable in the breeches and boots she was provided with (she kept the corset on top. She sort of liked it.), and began to help Elizabeth tie the sheets together.

"We're going to need more than two women," Elizabeth said, rushing to secure the end of a sheet to the bedpost.

"Aye," Rosalyn said. "We'll need three."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__ Oh yeah, now THIS is what I'm talking about! Action, action, and more action! Not to mention, we get to see a glimpse of the badasses Genesis and Rosalyn will eventually become. And, if you did not notice, the song that they quote/sing while kicking ass and taking names is "Sugar We're Going Down" by Fall Out Boy._

**Chapter 18: In Which They Open a Can of Whoop-Ass**

Gen sat on the bed, staring at her handiwork. The lavender dress, once a luscious vision of silk and lace, was now in many, many pieces, scattered throughout the room. Scraps of delicate fabric littered the floor, and surrounded her as she sat Indian-style in the center of the lush bed. She was still breathing a bit heavily from the fit that had destroyed the dress, her cheeks rosy and hair a mess. A couple of wayward scraps of silk floated down from the ceiling, one piece landing on her head. Barbossa would be furious.

Good.

Her eyes traveled to a small porthole to her left, too small for her to fit through, large enough to see the looming cave leading to the treasure of Isle de Muerta. She should have been out there, Will was about to be filleted like a flounder, Roz was stuck on an island with Jack, Jack was…well, who the hell could guess what Jack was doing.

She looked to the door that Barbossa had exited moments ago. He had taken the only weapon that was in the room with him. The dress-smiting tantrum had been brought on by the fact that she had nearly turned the room upside down, and found nothing more than a sewing needle. After a brief moment of contemplation over why Barbossa had a sewing needle in his cabin in the first place, she had proceeded to send the dress to its maker.

She picked the scrap out of her hair, looking at it before throwing herself back onto the bed. What the hell was she going to do now?

----------

Rosalyn and Elizabeth, with little skill and much cursing, even on Elizabeth's part, had finally managed to row to the _Black Pearl_. More swearing ensued as they struggled up the rope (Elizabeth was a lady, and Roz was generally anti-exercise, so it was a struggle), ending with a loud exhale of breath by both girls when they finally reached the top.

Elizabeth put a finger to her lips, as if Roz didn't know that silence was a necessity in the situation. They crept over the motionless top deck of the _Pearl_, tiptoeing on the creaking wood slats that made up the floor.

"You don't happen to remember how to get to the brig, do you?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'm pretty sure we'd have to head down," Roz replied. "Hopefully they left the keys, and OH MY GOD KLEPTO DEATH MONKEY."

Indeed, there sat the hated primate, chittering at them angrily from his perch on the opposite railing they had crossed from. He was still in his ornate little vest, and…had a new silver hoop adorning his right ear.

"That's my _earring_, you little bastard!" Roz cried. She lunged for the little monkey, which screamed like a little girl and attempted to escape.

Seconds later, the monkey was headed for Davy Jones' locker, taking a brief pit stop at a cannon for good measure, and Roz grabbed Elizabeth's hand.

"Come on," she said. "I'm sure they heard that. We've got to hurry."

They finally made their way to the brig, where most of the _Interceptor_'s crew was shoved together in a single cell.

"Shh," Gibbs said as the door opened. He gasped. "It's Elizabeth! And…friend!"

Roz looked around frantically, finally spotting a ring of keys on the wall. Elizabeth's brown eyes were cast over the faces of the pirates, hands gripping the bars of the cell door. Her face fell.

"Where's Will?" she breathed raggedly.

"Took him, they did," Gibbs explained. "Likely to the cave."

"Brawk," said Cotton's parrot. "Wind in your sails!"

Rosalyn had made her way over with the keys, and fumbled with a few before finding the correct one and releasing the crew. She stared at the mass of them before finally speaking.

"Genesis?"

Gibbs and Anamaria, who were closest to her at the time, gave each other a strange look, then glanced back at Rosalyn. Roz frowned.

"Where is she?"

"Barbossa's got her," Anamaria explained, clearly unnerved by the thought of what may have happened to her fellow piratess. "He was…'saving her for later.'"

Rosalyn paled, frozen to the spot. Her hands shook as she looked at Gibbs, who merely nodded in agreement.

"The hell he is," Rosalyn growled, suddenly storming away and up the stairs. The crew followed, unsure of where the angry redhead was going or what she was planning to do.

"Genesis!"

Well, they were sure now.

"_Genesis!_"

"Quiet, girl!" Anamaria hissed. "You want the guards up here?"

"Yes."

No sooner had she said it, but a banging began on the other side of a nearby door.

"Roz?"

Roz's eyes widened. "Gen!"

She began to run to the door, eyeing the padlock on it, when the guards came through a different door. Their eyes widened at the crew before them, particularly the wild-eyed girl in front.

Roz's eyes scanned the deck for something, anything. That anything was a hammer. She picked it up, not entirely sure how it would help, but sure it was better than being empty-handed.

"'Allo, pretty," said one of the guards, clearly sizing her up.

"'Allo, unconscious."

"Huh?"

The hammer left her hand in a deadly spin, the sharp, nail-prying end lodging itself in his forehead. The crew grimaced as the pirate fell.

"How did you do that?" Elizabeth asked in awe.

"I have no freaking clue," Rosalyn replied, eyes not leaving the remaining pirate. "Get me another hammer."

She didn't need it. The other pirate made a beeline for the railing, throwing himself overboard. Roz, with an eerie calm, walked over, grabbing the hammer and yanking it from the unconscious pirate's head, and made her way to the door which Genesis was still attempting to beat down. Gibbs commanded two men to dump the knocked-out pirate overboard, as Roz raised the hammer over her head. It took a couple of blows, but the padlock soon gave way, and the door swung open, revealing a very relieved, pink-faced Gen, surrounded by many scraps of lilac-colored silk.

"Gen!" Roz breathed, hugging the air right out of her friend. Her eyes fell on the room. "What the hell happened in there?"

"He tried to make me wear a dress," Gen replied with a grin. "Let's go."

"Right," Elizabeth said. "All of you. Will is in that cave and we must save him."

She made her way to one of the longboats and attempted to shove it off. "Ready? And heave!"

She made a rather humorous attempt at it by herself, nearly slipping at the force of her own push and the immobility of the heavy boat. She turned to look at the crew. "Please, I need your help! Come on!"

"Any port in the storm," squawked Cotton's parrot.

"Cotton's right," Gibbs agreed. "We've got the _Pearl_."

"And what about Jack?" Elizabeth protested. "You're just going to leave him?"

"Jack owes us a ship," said one of the sailors.

"It was Jack that got your sorry asses back on a ship in the first place, you ungrateful sacks of horse shit," Gen said, stepping up to stand next to Elizabeth.

"There's the Code to consider," Gibbs said in their defense.

"Code schmode," Rosalyn said, joining the other two women.

"You're pirates!" Elizabeth agreed. "Hang the Code, and hang the rules! They're more like guidelines anway."

The pirates looked at each other, silently discussing the options, and Elizabeth looked hopeful.

----------

Minutes later, Genesis, Rosalyn, and Elizabeth were on their way to the cave on their own, struggling to row in a straight line.

"Bloody pirates."

Rosalyn smirked at Elizabeth's muttered curse, then looked to the cave. "I don't think we've thought this through, kids," she said. "We're three women who, apart from these oars, are kind of unarmed. Discuss."

"It's a cave full of treasure and pirate paraphernalia," Gen replied. "There's got to be some sort of blunt object. Maybe another hammer."

"That was horribly impressive, Rosalyn," Elizabeth said, breathing heavily from the exertion.

"It was pretty damn cool, wasn't it?" Roz said with a proud smile. She looked up as they entered the cave. "Now, shush."

They rowed in silence, the voices of pirates echoing through the caves. Jack's voice suddenly hit Gen's ears, soon followed by an outburst of a battle. "Eff!" she yelled. She pushed Elizabeth off the seat, taking the oars herself. "Move, woman!"

They moved much faster with Gen's adrenaline rush. When they reached shore, they immediately sprang out, looking for weapons.

Will, meanwhile, was engaging in swordplay with a pirate. His eyes fell on his opponent's blade. Silver, wooden cross-decorated hilt. His eyes darkened.

"I believe that sword belongs to my sister," he said with a cold smile, and swung harshly, chopping the pirate's hand off at the wrist. The pirate bellowed and ran away, and Will stomped on the hand, which was still gripping the sword. It finally gave way, scurrying away after its master, and he picked up the sword, using both it and his own sword to cut his way through the other pirates.

Elizabeth caught sight of Will, and grabbed a huge staff, taking off after him and smashing a pirate with the staff, no doubt saying the corset line. Genesis and Rosalyn followed, still looking around for something, anything to use.

"Whose side is Jack on?" Elizabeth was saying, staring up to see Jack in the moonlight, skeleton glowing and eerie bluish white.

"At the moment?" Will replied. He and Elizabeth managed to stick the staff through the abdomens of three undead pirates, toss a grenade into the ribcage of one, and push them back out of the moonlight, thereby sealing the grenade inside.

"No fair," said the grenade-stuffed pirate, and they proceeded to explode.

"Ew," Rosalyn said, wiping some pirate off of her arm.

"Miss Morgan," Will said with a smile. "I believe that you dropped this." He held out the sword, and Gen gave him a friendly smile.

"You know, you're not bad for an obnoxious pretty boy," she said, taking the sword.

"I'd say the same, if you weren't a filthy pirate," he replied with a grin. Elizabeth frowned.

"Cursed pirates!" Rosalyn said, sensing the tension.

"Oh, right!" Gen said, taking off.

Roz frowned, realizing that she was now the only one who was unarmed. Her eyes fell on a long scepter, and she thought back to her color guard days. "Hmm."

A pirate made his way to her, swinging two scimitars wildly while making a rather Xena-like yell. She picked up the scepter, and began spinning and swinging it with gusto, behind the back, over the head, tossing it in the air. The pirate watched in awe, and she took the distraction in stride, swinging the scepter with great force and sending the pirate in an airborne cartwheel to the water below. She finished the swing with the scepter behind her back, in a defensive pose. Elizabeth watched in wonder.

"Rosalyn, you never cease to amaze me," she said.

"I am pretty bad-ass, eh?" Rosalyn said, before scampering off.

Genesis was making her way up the mound of treasure to where Jack and Barbossa were fighting to the death. She must have caught Jack's eye over Barbossa's shoulder, and he faltered long enough for Barbossa to smash him in the side of the head and send him toppling off the mound into the moat around them. Barbossa began laughing, but was shut up by the heel of Gen's boot to the center of his back. He stumbled and spun around.

"Am I more than you bargained for yet?" Gen said with a grin. She leapt out of the way as Barbossa lunged, sliding down a steep heel of treasure. She heard another voice cry out.

_"I've been dying to tell you everything you want to hear, 'cause that's just who I am this week."_

She looked to see Roz making a bloody pulp out of two pirates with a long, bejeweled rod. She grinned, and began to swordfight with another pirate as they both sang the rest of the words.

_"We're going down, down, in an earlier round, and sugar we're goin' down swinging."_

Gen managed to take down her foe, and looked to Roz, who was still fighting the pirate in front of her, while another snuck up behind her. Gen grabbed a pistol from her fallen opponent's belt and made her way over as Roz continued singing, swinging away.

_"I'll be your number one with a bullet, a loaded God complex…"_

The pirate behind her raised his blade.

"Cock it and pull it," Gen said from behind him, pistol aimed at the back of his head. Roz ducked as Gen pulled the trigger, the shot sending the pirate slumping to his feet, a fresh new hole in his head.

"Wow," Roz said. "That was --"

She stopped, eyes and mouth open wide. Gen looked down to see the tip of a blade protruding through her friend's stomach, blood beginning to seep through the corset. The tip disappeared as the pirate behind Rosalyn pulled his sword out, and Rosalyn began to slump down. Gen stood, paralyzed.

"Gen?" Roz whispered.

_"ROZ!"_

It was feral, unholy, unnatural. Genesis' scream echoed through the cavern, over the din of the battle and the cries of the fighting pirates. All heads turned to the two young women, one slumped and weak, the other one bent, trying to help her friend. Jack had just managed to get to the top of the mound of treasure, and his breath stopped at the sight. Barbossa even paused to see what that heartbreaking cry had been about.

Genesis looked up as the pirate who had stabbed Rosalyn began laughing and wiping the blood off of his blade. He looked about to off Genesis as well, but it wasn't meant to be.

With a spin and a scream, she had cut through the skin, flesh, and bone of his neck, and for a moment, he simply stood there. Then, almost in slow motion, his head cocked to the side and slid off his neck, landing with a solid thunk on the ground next to Rosalyn's suffering form. Shaking with anger, Gen let out a growl and planted her booted foot into the headless chest and kicked him over backward.

As his body hit the ground, the battle continued, almost on cue. Pirates became distracted by Elizabeth and Will, who had run to Gen and Roz's aid. Gen looked around madly, sea-toned eyes falling on the chest full of cursed coins.

"Will, Elizabeth," she yelled. "Cover me."

They nodded, fending off pirates with sword and…whatever Elizabeth had grabbed, and Gen grabbed Rosalyn under the arms. She began the strenuous task of dragging her barely-conscious friend to the cursed treasure of Cortez. She propped Roz against it, and grabbed her friend by the face.

"Roz," she said, shaking her a bit. "Rozzie, c'mon. You've gotta grab one of these damn coins, okay? That's all you have to do, honey, come on."

Will glanced at the girls, noticing, much to his surprise, that the strong-minded brunette's cheeks were stained with tears, her eyes glowing a bright greenish color through the redness of her crying.

"C'mon, Rozzie," she said, picking up Roz's hand and laying it in the chest. "Just one. Just grab it, honey."

Roz's green eyes fluttered open, and her fist clenched suddenly, almost subconsciously seizing one of the coins underneath her fingers. Gen snatched her hand away, lest she drop the coin again, and grasped Roz's fist in her own hand, keeping the medallion safe in Roz's needy clutches.

Roz's eyes fluttered again, then snapped open completely as she inhaled sharply. She looked down to the hole in the front of her corset, prying the fabric apart to reveal merely a scar where the wound had just been.

"Gen?" she said. Gen choked on a mixture between a laugh and a cry, and threw herself onto the smaller girl. "GOD. GET OFF, HEIFER."

"Ladies?" came Jack's voice from a ways off. "We could use your help, if all is well."

Gen helped Roz to her feet. Roz wiped the coin across her stomach, soaking it in her blood, and tossed it into the chest, and they rejoined the fight. Gen saw out of the corner of her eye Jack throwing a shiny bit of something to Will, just as Barbossa was aiming his pistol at Elizabeth. There was a shot, and Roz screamed Elizabeth's name. Elizabeth remained standing, and Barbossa turned to see Jack, who was still aiming his pistol at his chest.

"Ten years you carry that pistol," Barbossa sneered. "And now you waste your shot."

"He didn't waste it."

Barbossa spun to see Will cut his own hand, stain his medallion with his own blood, and drop both he and Jack's medallions into the chest. Barbossa dropped his sword, moving his jacket over with horrified eyes to see blood beginning to spread around the hole in his shirt.

"I feel…cold," he muttered, a strange smile creeping over his face. He fell, an apple rolling from his hand as he hit the ground.

It was a dramatic moment. Which would not stand in the presence of one particular woman.

"Where the hell did that apple come from?" Roz asked suddenly.

----------

After dispatching of the rest of the pirates in the cave, the small troupe regrouped on the mound of treasure on which the great Barbossa had fallen. "We should return to the _Dauntless_," Elizabeth said, looking very tired.

"Your fiancé will be wanting to know you're safe," Will said icily. Elizabeth turned, unable to look Will in the eye, and walked off.

"Someone's bitter," Gen muttered, watching Elizabeth walk away in a melancholy state.

Jack swaggered over to Will, dripping with jewels and wearing a lopsided crown. "If you were waiting for the opportune moment," he said quietly. "That was it."

Jack hopped into the boat, turning to help Gen and Rosalyn board as well, both girls now wearing at least three pieces of jewelry that had not been in their possession when they had entered the cave.

"Now," Jack said, finally helping Elizabeth in and sitting down as Will took the oars. "If you'd be so kind, I'd be much obliged if you'd drop me off at my ship."

"Erm, Jack?"

He turned to look at Genesis as Will shoved off from shore. "Yes, love?"

"Um, Rosalyn and I," she said uncomfortably. "Well, we don't really have anywhere to go, and we --"

"Nowhere to go?" Jack said, looking insulted. "Are you telling me you're jumping ship? Well, if you don't think you two have what it takes to be members of my crew, so be it."

"Really?" Rosalyn said happily.

"Aye."

----------

Jack wasn't the only one whose heart fell to the floor of the boat when they rowed out of the cave to meet only the _Dauntless_. Genesis and Rosalyn both laid a hand on him in a comforting gesture, though he stayed completely still.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Elizabeth muttered.

"They done what's right by them," he replied curtly. "Can't expect more than that."

Gen looked over to see Norrington and his men rowing toward them She sighed and rolled up the remaining sleeve on her shirt. "Might as well make it easier to cuff me, eh?"

"What are you talking about?" Roz asked.

"I'm a fugitive, remember?" Gen said. "Jack and I have a date with the commodore, if I'm not mistaken."

"Oh. Crap."

Genesis took an instinctive step backward as Norrington leapt off the bow of the longboat before her, motioning for his men to slap irons on the wrists of herself, Jack, Will and Rosalyn. She frowned, shaking her head frantically at the commodore.

"She's innocent," she said, looking to Rosalyn. "What are you doing?"

"Aiding pirates, Miss Morgan, is more than enough to call upon the power of the law," he replied stonily, beginning to shackle her wrists himself.

Genesis looked up at him, eyeing his features as he focused on securing her wrists in the heavy manacles. "Even when it's the right thing to do, Commodore?" she asked quietly.

His eyes met hers for a moment, and he clicked the lock into place. "It will not work, Morgan," he replied just as lowly, clearly not wanting to be heard conversing so intimately with this known pirate. "Twisting words to suit your own needs, manipulation; you and Sparrow may have had luck with the art before, but it will not work on me."

"What won't?" she said darkly. "The truth?"

Another glance, and he released her hands a bit roughly, handing the chain on her shackles to Lieutenant Gillette. "Your kind lacks the knowledge to share the truth, Miss Morgan," he said more loudly, clearly through with this discussion.

"The truth would kill you," she called out after him. He paused, glancing back at her, and her eyes flickered to the form of Elizabeth, who was currently worrying over Will's irons. Norrington followed her gaze, almost visibly wincing, and he looked back to Genesis. He was surprised to see the expression he found on her features; not quite sympathy, not quite anger. She held his gaze for a moment before speaking again.

"And not that merciful heart-stopping variety of death, either, Commodore."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do not own any of the characters or plotlines of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl." If I did, I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfiction; I'd be off making money. Which I am not doing with this work. I do, however, lay claim to the characters of Genesis Wolfe and Rosalyn O'Brien, and would be pleased as punch if you did not use them without my permission. Thank you, darlings._

_**Author's Note:**__ Here it is, the final chapter of the long-time-coming-please-god-let-it-be-finished _Destinations: Really Bad Eggs._ However, do not be sad. Perhaps you noticed something rather important, hm? No? Perhaps the fact that these two twenty-first century women are still trouncing around in the 1700s? Oh yeah; this adventure is far from over. We've still got two movies to make it through, children! So keep an eye out for the next installment, _Destinations: And a Bottle of Rum_, coming soon!_

**Chapter 19: In Which It All Comes Together**

It was a beautiful day in Port Royal. The sun was shining down on the proceedings, warm enough for the lovely ladies below to hold parasols _and_ bust out their lace fans. They were all dressed to the nines, and all to watch two fugitives be put to death.

Captain Jack Sparrow and his companion, a young woman known as Genesis Morgan, were to be hanged for piracy.

Among other things.

"Jack Sparrow," began the official.

"Captain," Jack muttered in annoyance. "Captain Jack Sparrow."

The man simply continued talking, ignoring Jack's correction. "…for your willful commission of crimes against the crown. Said crimes being numerous in quantity and sinister in nature, the most egregious of these to be cited herewith;"

"Here we go," Genesis said in an amused tone.

"…piracy…"

"Duh."

"…smuggling…"

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Swann stood with her father and fiancé, Rosalyn by her side. Elizabeth had managed to get a pardon for her "maid," but had failed to, unfortunately, for Jack and Genesis, who had openly admitted their piracy. Rosalyn, unfortunately, was currently in a dull green dress, similar in design to her normal maid's outfit, wearing another stupid little cap. She was currently wringing a handkerchief in her sweating hands.

"This is wrong," Elizabeth said in shuddering tones.

"Commodore Norrington is bound by the law," Governor Swann said dolefully. "As are we all."

"Especially when it's at benefit for ourselves," Rosalyn said. Norrington glanced at her fleetingly, then looked back to the proceedings. Sparrow, unsurprisingly, looked nonchalant. He surely had been in the gallows before. But the Morgan woman; she was so young. Surely she hadn't been such situation before? Norrington's mouth turned down slightly as he pondered the woman's fate. Had she ever said that she was indeed a pirate? No. But she had helped one. That was enough. Surely, that was enough.

Genesis looked up, suddenly, catching his stare. There was a brief moment, when she glanced at Elizabeth, and her brow was marred with a line of worry, and she looked back at him before the expression disappeared. He frowned, glimpsing at his fiancée, then back to the Morgan woman. What did she know?

"…impersonating an officer of the Spanish Royal Navy, impersonating a cleric of the Church of England…"

Gen's attention was torn from the commodore's face, and she looked at Jack, who was smiling fondly. She smirked. "I'll have to hear about that one, sometime, Jack, m'love." She noticed the executioner glaring and shut up.

"…sailing under false colors, arson, kidnapping, looting, poaching, brigandage, pilfering, depravity, depredation, and general lawlessness."

"Cripes almighty, what'd they do, bust out a thesaurus?" Gen said.

"Genesis Morgan," the official said, moving to her. "For the lawless act of piracy, you and Jack Sparrow…"

"_Captain_ Jack Sparrow," Genesis proclaimed loudly. Rosalyn glanced at Norrington. There was almost a hint of an amused smile on his lips, if only for a second.

"…have been sentenced to be, on this day, hung by the neck 'til dead," finished the official. "May God have mercy on your souls."

Rosalyn looked down as the crowd split and Will stepped up to the bottom of the small staircase they all stood on.

"Governor Swann, Commodore," he said with a formal nod. They returned the gesture.

"Elizabeth."

Elizabeth looked down at him, lips parted in her surprise at his informality.

"I should have told you every day from the moment I met you," he continued. "I love you."

Rosalyn's eyes once again went to the commodore's face, just in time to see his world begin to fall apart. There was a strange squawk, and Elizabeth and Rosalyn both looked up to see Cotton's parrot landing on a flag. Roz looked down at Will, who was smiling. He offered her his arm. "Miss O'Brien?"

Roz's eyes flew to the gallows, then back to Will, who nodded curtly at the silent question in her look. Roz turned to wink at Elizabeth before hustling down the steps to latch onto Will. She heard Elizabeth's false fainting spell as the drum roll began. Will pulled her along, pulling a dagger and Genesis' sword from his belt and pushing them into her hands. "Miss Morgan. Go."

The floor dropped from beneath Gen and Jack's feet, and as they fell, Will threw his sword and implanted it in the wood beneath Jack, giving the pirate a foothold. Gen continued the descent, and bounced a bit as the rope pulled taut, her hands clawing at the rope that was cutting off her oxygen.

Will and Roz wasted no time mounting the platform, where they went to work cutting their companions free. Gen fell to the ground, gasping for air, and Roz helped her to her feet, shoving the sword into her hand.   
"No time. Let's go."

Genesis and Rosalyn ran after Jack and Will, Gen occasionally fending off a soldier with her sword as Roz continued running, as she couldn't do much with that small dagger. They finally reached the precipice, only to run into a wall of soldiers and bayonets. Norrington looked very dark, angry, and in Gen's opinion, suddenly rather attractive, even though his sword happened to be at her own throat personally..

"I thought we might have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt," Norrington said to Will. "But not from you." He glanced at Rosalyn. "And especially not from a maid."

"I'm not a maid," Roz replied. "I'm a pirate."

"On our return to Port Royal, I granted you both clemency," Governor Swann said, shaking with anger. "And this is how you thank me? By throwing in your lots with them? They're pirates!"

"And good people," Will said. Jack pointed to himself proudly, mouthing "that's me," while Gen merely winked at Norrington.

"If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn three pairs of boots instead of two, so be it," Will said.

Rosalyn lifted her skirt a bit, showing off her slippered foot. "I'm not wearing boots, you see," she explained.

"At least my conscience will be clear," Will finished.

"You forget your place, Turner," Norrington said in a dangerous tone.

"It's right here," Will said. "Between you and Jack."

"As is mine," Elizabeth said, stepping next to Will.

"Elizabeth!" Governor Swann exclaimed. "Lower your weapons. For goodness' sake, put them down!"

The weapons were lowered, and Norrington stared at his fiancé. "So this is where your heart truly lies, then?"

"It is."

Jack noticed a parrot flying off into the sunset. "Well!" he said, breaking the awkward silence. "I'm actually feeling rather good about this."

He looked to Governor Swann. "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually? Ecumenically? Grammatically?"

He glanced at Norrington. "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate. Know that."

Gen smirked. "I, personally, don't mind you being an eligible bachelor again, love," she whispered to Norrington. He actually colored a bit. Adorable.

"Elizabeth," Jack said, suddenly serious. "It would have never worked between us, darling." He looked pained. "I'm sorry." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Will."

A pause, Will looking at the pirate expectantly.

"Nice hat."

Roz took the opportunity to flick one of the feathers of Will's hat, and he smiled.

"Friends!" Jack said grandiosely. "This is the day that you will always remember as the day that --"

And there he went, over the battlement.

Gen glanced at Norrington, knowing that he wouldn't attempt to catch Jack just yet. The commodore caught the woman's glance, and a small smile played upon his handsome face before he cleared his throat, motioning to his men to raise their weapons again.

"Seems we've worn out our welcome, Roz, me dove," Gen announced.

"Aye," Roz replied, and suddenly began ripping the buttons off the back of her dress and stripping it off. Some of the soldiers, Norrington included, averted their eyes as she stripped down to her corset and bloomers once again.

"Good Lord, child, what are you doing?" Governor Swann cried.

"I can't _swim_ in those bloody things!" Roz said. Kicking off her slippers, she gave Will and Elizabeth quick kisses on the cheeks, and disappeared over the ledge as well.

Gen looked to Will and Elizabeth. "You crazy kids," she said with a grin.

"Take care of yourself," Will said. "Sis."

"Aww," Gen said with a pout. "You're making me all veclempt."

She looked at the commodore, who was staring at Elizabeth. She felt a pang of sympathy.

"Oh, stop that," she said, snapping him out of his trance. "You're handsome, intelligent, and a bloody _commodore_. Hell, I'd marry you, if I didn't think you'd throw me in jail."

He looked at her for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Miss Morgan, you are aware that you _are_ still a wanted fugitive, and that you _are_ surrounded by members of the Royal Navy, hm?"

"Oh," she said, glancing around. "Right."

She began backing toward the ledge as the soldiers approached. She glanced over their shoulders at the commodore, who was smiling a bit in amusement.

"Offer's always on the table, handsome," she shouted to him. His smile faded, replaced by a strange look, as she turned and leapt to the waters below.

"Idiots," Gillette suddenly said. "They have nowhere to go but back to the noose."

"Sail ho!"

The sentry's cry caught everyone's attention, and indeed, familiar black sails were sailing out from around a cliff face.

"What's your plan of action?" Gillette asked Norrington. The commodore was silent. "Sir?"

"Perhaps," Governor Swann said thoughtfully. "On the rare occasion, pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy. Piracy itself can be the right course?"

Norrington gave a tiny smile, watching the two young women far below following the pirate captain through the chopping waters. He turned. "Mister Turner," he said, maintaining a straight face. Will muttered something to Elizabeth, then stepped forward as Norrington unsheathed his sword.

James looked at the perfectly crafted blade as it hovered very near to Turner's face. "This is a beautiful sword," he said. "I would expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life." It was then that he turned his eyes to Will. It was an evident promise; if Will failed to make Elizabeth happy, James was sure to return the favor to him.

"Thank you," Will said, but it was clear from the look in his eye that he understood the oath, and planned to uphold it. James nodded, and made to turn, pausing and looking up at Elizabeth.

"Oh, and Miss Swann?"

Elizabeth looked down, looking a tad apprehensive. James smiled.

"The very best of luck to you both." He turned to walk back into the fort.

"Commodore!" Gillette protested. "What about Sparrow and Morgan? And…the naked one? Should we prepare the _Dauntless_ for pursuit?"

James paused, and glanced back in the direction of the looming, dark ship. A tiny smile played upon his lips, thinking of the two young women, especially the words of the former. "Oh," he said. "I think we can afford to give him _one_ day's head start."

With that, he turned on his heel, disappearing back into the fort. He had a lot of preparations to oversee. Tomorrow, they sailed.

----------

Moments later, Jack, Rosalyn, and Genesis were being hauled aboard the _Black Pearl_.

"I thought you were supposed to keep to the Code," Jack said to Gibbs.

"We figured they were more actual…guidelines," Gibbs replied, winking at the women, who had secretive smiles on their faces.

Jack thanked Cotton as the old man handed him his hat, and Anamaria approached, smiling warmly.

"Captain Sparrow," she said, putting a coat around his shoulders. "The _Black Pearl_ is yours."

Genesis watched, a small smile on her lips, as Jack made his to the helm, taking a moment to stroke it fondly, as if he couldn't believe it. He glanced over at Rosalyn, who was raising an eyebrow at his oddly affectionate nature, and stiffened.

"On deck, ye scabrous dogs!" he cried. "Man the braces! Let down and haul to run free!"

The men scattered, while Genesis and Rosalyn remained at his side, unsure of what to do, anyway.

"Now," Jack said. "Bring me that horizon."

He began to hum quietly, and the girls smiled.

"And really bad eggs," he sang in a low voice, grinning back at them. They joined in.

"Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!"


End file.
